Following on from a visit to Ireland in April, Malmö FF are preparing to host Erasmus+ partners Cork City FC in Sweden later this week.
The ties between these two clubs go back over a decade to a time when the Intertoto Cup was a fixture on the European club football calendar. The Leesiders claimed home and away wins over their Swedish counterparts to progress to the next stage of the competition back in 2004, and the tie was fondly remembered when Malmö FF wrote to Cork City on the occasion of their 30th anniversary celebrations in 2014.
The letter was signed by Secretary of the Board of Malmo FF, Pontus Hansson, and Pontus will be amongst the delegation to welcome Cork City vice chairman Mike Derham and project co-ordinator on behalf of Cork City, John Kennedy, to Sweden this weekend. Acting CEO of SD Europe Niamh O’Mahony will also make the journey to be part of the visit.
The exchange is a crucial part of SD Europe’s Clubs and Supporters for Better Governance in Football project, which is financed by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme along with UEFA.
Six-member owned clubs and five national supporter organisations have been taking part in a range of workshops and exchange visits since January 2016 with the objective of improving their understanding around key issues related to Good Governance, Sustainable Finance and Member & Volunteer Engagement. The project is due to conclude this coming December, and a training tool summarising all key lessons learned is being developed at present.
The CCFC delegation will arrive in Malmo on August 11th and experience match day preparations and activities – including the role of the SLO – before attending the Malmo FF v Kalmar FF game the same evening. A series of meetings and discussions with key club personnel will then follow over the Saturday and Sunday of the visit before the visitors fly home on August 13th.
For more information, see Our Project and Project partner sections of the website.