Semi-finals showcase epilepsy awareness

Friday's UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-finals not only provide a platform for the success-hungry teams of England, Sweden, Italy and Germany but also for teams of athletes with epilepsy who share a hugely significant goal themselves – to pass on the message that persons with epilepsy can excel in any aspect of daily life.

Two matches
Players will come from all over Europe to take part in two matches, one in Gothenburg and the other in Helsingborg, which will serve as a prelude to the semi-final action. First at the Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg, two sides of seven players will contest a 14-minute match to raise the curtain on the England-Sweden semi-final, which kicks off at 18.00CET. Then at the Olympia in Helsingborg, another 14 footballers will play out two halves of seven minutes ahead of the Italy-Germany game starting at 20.45.

'Improving knowledge'
The matches have been organised by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and UEFA, in association with the International Bureau for Epilepsy. UEFA President Michel Platini hopes the initiative "will contribute to improving knowledge about epilepsy and, most importantly, emphasise that people with epilepsy are entitled and able to live a life that meets their expectations and to engage fully in social and professional activities."

Opportunity for players
With participants already arriving at their venues for the event, one player, 23-year-old Niklas Smott from Furulund in the Malmo region, endorsed those comments when he told uefa.com: "I have accepted my condition and can use it for good things in the future." Smott, an amateur footballer, youth coach and referee when not studying to become a PE teacher at Halmstad University, needed little persuasion from his doctor to compete in the Helsingborg match – a "dream opportunity" for a supporter of Helsingborgs IF.

Ongoing commitment
The ILAE showcase games are a sequel to the successful social responsibility programme at UEFA EURO 2008™ last summer. The tournament in Austria and Switzerland promoted football for blind, Special Olympics and Paralympic players as well as for people with cerebral palsy. To raise public awareness of epilepsy and its implications, several former top professional footballers will also take part in the matches in Gothenburg and Helsingborg.

Click to read the article: Semi-final platform raises epilepsy awareness.

Click here for the ILAE website.