Ambassadors' delight at Danish spectacle

With the UEFA European Under-21 Championship entering its final stage, UEFA.com spoke to two men who have contributed considerably to the tournament's success – Flemming Povlsen and Søren Frederiksen.

Tournament ambassador Povlsen was a member of the famous Denmark team that won the UEFA European Championship in 1992. While he explains his main role at the U21s is to "promote the game and tournament", Povlsen says it is more than just a job. "Football means something to me and I have to give something back and help the people who are arranging [the finals]."

The hosts may have fallen by the wayside early, but Povlsen has appreciated getting to see new talent from all over Europe during the last two weeks. "The most important thing to me is that I've seen a lot of football," added the 44-year-old former PSV Eindhoven and Borussia Dortmund forward. "I've learnt about new players – their skills. Ukraine and Belarus I didn't know before. I knew Spain of course, but it's always good to see them live."

As well as the overall tournament ambassador, each host city has had a local lead representative. In Viborg's case, it was Søren Frederiksen, who played for his home-town club and Aalborg BK in his career as a striker. "It's a big role and I was very happy when I was asked to be an ambassador for Viborg," the 38-year-old said.

"I've really enjoyed it – the football's been good and I think Viborg has done well," Frederiksen, capped six times by his country, added. "I've been to the fan zone, seen the games here – we think we have a nice stadium here in Viborg – we are very happy about how it's gone."

Povlsen is now looking forward to the final between the two sides that have impressed him most – Spain and Switzerland. What pleases him most, though, is that Denmark's biggest ever football event has proved to be a great success, and as he himself points out, "it's been a nice journey".