Draw for EURO FOOT Jeunes takes place

The draw for EURO FOOT Jeunes – the European schools' tournament set to take place from 29 May to 5 June in Lens and Lille – was made on Tuesday 29 March at the Louvre-Lens museum in the presence of Super Victor, the official mascot of UEFA EURO 2016.

This tournament, which is supported by the UEFA Foundation for Children and organised jointly by France's National Union of Schools Sport (UNSS), the International School Sport Federation (ISF), EURO 2016 SAS and the French Football Federation (FFF), will bring together almost 1,000 young footballers – boys and girls – from a total of 45 different countries.

"The UEFA Foundation for Children is delighted and very proud to be supporting this UNSS tournament alongside EURO 2016 SAS," said Hosni Ajala, a representative of the foundation. "This is a wonderful opportunity for young footballers to play an indirect part in the senior tournament."

The draw, which was accompanied by a dance performance from local schoolchildren, was conducted by Olivier Dacourt, formerly of RC Lens and the French national side, in the company of numerous distinguished guests – notably Jean-François Ceca, deputy mayor of Lens with responsibility for sport, Laurent Petrynka, national director of the UNSS, and Luc Johann, rector of the local education authority.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be here today, both because I played in this city for RC Lens and because I am proud to be supporting this youth football event," Dacourt said before conducting the draw for the girls' and boys' competitions with the aid of French musician Lord Kossity and LOSC Lille and France midfielder Rio Mavuba.

"We want the schools' EURO 2016 to be an opportunity to strengthen the educational dimension of the UNSS on the back of this major international sporting event in France," Petrynka said in his draw speech.

Young players from all over the world will have a unique opportunity to come to northern France and compete for this highly prestigious trophy, playing in the fantastic sports facilities made available for this tournament by Lille and Lens – namely Stade Pierre Mauroy, which will stage six EURO matches, and La Gaillette, Lens's training complex and player development centre. 

The results of the draw were as follows:

Boys' competition

Group A
Turkey (seeded)
England
Bulgaria
French Overseas Team
Netherlands
Azerbaijan

Group B
France (seeded)
Romania
Cyprus
Greece
Russia 

Group C
Croatia (seeded)
Germany
Poland
Switzerland
Belgium Wallonia

Group D
Hungary (seeded)
Serbia
Flanders
Italy
Northern Ireland
Luxembourg 

Girls' competition

Group A
Switzerland (seeded)
Turkey (seeded)
Netherlands
Russia
Northern Ireland 

Group B
France (seeded)
Germany (seeded)
Brazil
Greece
French Overseas Team 

The UEFA Foundation for Children was established on the initiative of UEFA and its President, Michel Platini. It shows UEFA's desire to make a greater contribution to local communities and society in general. For a number of years now, UEFA has supported various programmes and activities aimed at children. These undertakings have resulted in UEFA working with various different partners, developing projects both in Europe and elsewhere in the world. This tournament is one such project.