The FIFAe Finals is the biggest, grandest ending imaginable to the 2022 season. All three pinnacle events of FIFAe - starting with the FIFAe World Cup presented by EA SPORTS from the 14 to 17 July; FIFAe Club World Cup presented by EA SPORTS from the 20 to 23 July; and ending with the FIFAe Nations Cup presented by EA SPORTS from the 27 to 30 July - will be hosted back-to-back over three consecutive weeks in Copenhagen. Part of these three events is volunteer Helle whose volunteer journey did not start in 2022, but way earlier. Helle told FIFA+ why she started her Volunteer journey and what makes volunteering special for her.
"My name is Helle. I’m 57 years old and I originally hail from Denmark. I spent 37 years on the Côte d’Azur and now live near Porto, having moved to Portugal four months ago. My volunteering journey began in 2015, when, one day after work, I heard on the Côte d’Azur’s English-language radio station that UEFA was looking for volunteers for the European Championship in Nice. I mulled it over for a few days, having been drawn to it, among other reasons, because I’m a former professional footballer – an ex-Denmark and France international, no less! I love the sport, so I quickly found myself saying “why not?” and deciding to take the plunge. The following day, my friend Mathilde, with whom I played for a number of years in France, told me that she was entertaining similar thoughts and suggested we sign up. A few months later, the two of us headed off to Nice to be interviewed – by other volunteers – which was a really interesting experience. At the beginning of 2016, we got the great and unexpected news that we’d been selected. I had the privilege of being part of the VIP team, which entailed greeting VIPs at the Allianz Riviera in Nice and escorting them from the underground car park to the VIP lounge at the top of the stadium. Though volunteering means long hours, can involve a trek from the car park and is really hard work, I very much fancied a second bite at the cherry at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019, also in France, so I registered once again. At some point later, I received an email inviting me to choose a date and time for an interview in Nice. During these interviews, they ask you about your experience, what you do for a living and which languages you speak. Part of the interview may be held in English because it’s a language that you’ve simply got to be able to use to interact with people as a volunteer. Next, there’s a discussion of the preferences that you indicated during the online registration process, in order to confirm your possible role. I’d marked “Match Organisation” among my choices on both occasions. However, I missed out on that the first time round, at the men’s EURO, and the person from FIFA explained to me that the role can only be performed by someone of the same sex as the players, because it involves going into the dressing rooms while they’re inside. Once the interview is over, you might be taken to try on the uniform for size. Afterwards, you head home and wait for a final response by email. If your application is successful, you’ll be informed of your assignment, but there’s still some room for negotiation if something isn’t quite right for you. For example, if you’re going to be combining volunteering with your day job, you may be able to tweak your timetable. I was assigned to the Match Organisation team, which was my first choice, and I was thrilled to finally get to perform that role. All the volunteers in Nice were brought in for an orientation day, which was very well organised. It was a chance to get to know my fellow volunteers, particularly people with the same role, and there were games and speeches, among other things. At a later juncture, you’re invited to another event to learn more about your position. FIFA’s volunteering assignments are extremely varied and everyone has a very specific part to play, which is overseen by a team leader. I spent two half-days with my 15-strong, all-female team and we had the pleasant surprise of finding out that we were also going to be on anti-doping duty – namely, chaperoning the lucky people randomly selected for doping control (two players per team) to the place where tests are conducted after matches. Next came a two-month wait before the big day finally arrived. We were lucky in Nice, because the city staged six matches, all kicking off We were lucky in Nice, because the city staged six matches, most of which kicked off in the early evening or even later. As a volunteer, you’ve got to be able to deal with late nights and stay on the ball for long hours! However, there’s always a great atmosphere and you get to know extraordinary people who are there with the same goal as you: to offer service with a smile. My memories of that second tournament are every bit as fond as those of my first volunteering experience in 2016, and on top of that, I learnt a lot about anti-doping. The coordinators are always on hand to help and try to involve you as much as possible. So, when I was approached about an event in Copenhagen in July 2022, I didn’t think twice before accepting."