After two days of a high-class minifootball in Galanta, we have got a new champion. Team USA won in the final game of the tournament 2:1 after penalties (0:0 Full-time) against Hungary. The thrilling match with a couple of great moments from both teams. That is the final that everyone wanted. The host country Slovakia ended up in the 3rd place.

Team USA won the EMF Nations Games 2023 held in Galanta, Slovakia without a defeat. After wins in the group stage against Hungary (3:1) and Bulgaria (3:1), they won both penalty dramas in the knockout stage. First against Romania in semifinal when they won 3:1 after penalties (2:2 full-time) and then against Hungary in the final 2:1 (0:0 full-time).

3rd place game was also an absolute blockbuster. Slovakia clinched a win 3:2 against multiple European Champions, Romania. Battle for the 5th place on this tournament between Bulgaria and England was a pure drama as well. First match belonged to the Bulgarians when they won 5:4, but in the second one England made a comeback and won 4:3. Penalties had to decide. And they did. Bulgaria won in the penalty shootout 3:2 and ended up 5th.

Final standings

1. 1. USA
2. 2. Hungary
3. 3. Slovakia
4. 4. Romania
5. 5. Bulgaria
6. 6. England

The best goalkeeper – Boris Pardo (USA)

The best player – Sebastian Mendez (USA)

The best goalscorer – Franck Tayou (USA)

Right before the start of the tournament, we sat down with Rostislav Chanev, manager or the Bulgarian team, coming to Slovakia with nice memories after they won bronze medals last year at EMF EURO 2022 in Košice.

WHAT BRINGS YOU TO EMF NATIONS GAMES IN SLOVAKIA AND WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO ACHIEVE WHILE YOU’RE HERE?

We hope to continue where we left off last year with our first medals from international tournaments, organized by EMF and WMF. We also qualified for our first Mini Euro World Cup this autumn in Ras Al Khaimah, so the Nations games will be the perfect start of preparation for it. We respect all the teams in Galanta and we are very happy to play with such strong opponents, but of course, we want to win the tournament.

HOW MANY PLAYERS AND WHAT AGE WILL YOU BRING WITH YOU?

17 players are coming to the tournament, almost all of them played in the European championship last year, where we’ve won third place.

HOW DO YOU SEE MINIFOOTBALL EVOLVING IN THE FUTURE, AND WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK TOURNAMENTS LIKE THIS WILL PLAY IN ITS DEVELOPMENT?

We see that is becoming fast the sport of the people, easy to play, no need to be a professional and also it helps to connect people and communities together, while supporting fairplay and equality. The interest in minifootball in Bulgaria is huge, with millions of people celebrating our bronze medals from Kosice last year.

WHAT DOES YOUR FEDERATION DO FOR THE YOUTH IN YOUR COUNTRY?

Bulgarian Minifootball Association is one of the largest minifootball organizations in Europe with a lot of initiatives, concentrated on creating and administrating child and youth football tournaments and leagues in the whole country. We also host a number of tournaments, local, national and international, for men with nearly 20000 players around Bulgaria.

WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, CULTURE, AND HOSPITALITY?

Great people, very warm, while the cities are clean, modern and full of different interesting attractions. We are looking forward to be your guests again!

Thank you, Ros, and good luck in Galanta!

Slovak minifootball federation invites all the media representatives and journalists for the official EMF Nations Games 2023 press conference.

The EMF Nations Games 2023 will take place on May 7th & 8th in Galanta, on the FC Slovan Galanta football pitch.

The main tournament has very strong line-up of the best european teams (Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, England), that are joined by the national team of USA.

Another big story is Miroslav Stoch, former football player, who is about to play his first games in the national team of Slovakia.

All the matches will be available to watch via Niké TV, the matches of Slovak national team will be also available on RTVS Šport (Slovak national TV broadcaster).

Important information

• Date: Friday, May 5th 2023
• Time: 2 pm
• Address: Room 214 (2nd floor), DK Ružinov, Ružinovská 28, Bratislava

The confirmed press conference attendees:

• Peter Králik – Slovak minifootball federation president, EMF vice-president
• Branislav Škorec – national team coach of team Slovakia
• Miroslav Stoch – national team player of team Slovakia

We look forward to seeing you on Friday.

After Slovakia hosted the EMF EURO 20222 last year, we will host another important event in 2023. On May 7th and 8th, the EMF Nations Games will take place in Galanta with the participation of 6 of the leading countries of minifootball.

Slovakia host the minifootball elite

The EMF Nations Games in Galanta were also held in 2019. Back then it was the inaugural event of this type. Four national teams took part – Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and England. “We kicked off the EMF Nations Games for the first time in 2019 and we didn’t know what kind of response it would get. However, it worked out perfectly. The event even caught the attention of not only Slovak media but also foreign ones. We already said that we would organise this event here again,” said Peter Králik, president of the SZMF. This time it will be a two-day event with six national teams participating.

The current European vice-champions from Romania and the bronze medal winning team from Bulgaria will come to Galanta for the EMF Nations Games 2023. Fans can also look forward to the participation of the Hungarian national team, which took 6th place at the last European Championships and 4th place at the last World Championships in Australia. Western neighbour of the host country, Austria, will also visit Galanta. Interesting will certainly be the comparison of these teams with the team of USA, who were the participants of the 8-finals at the last world championship.

“I firmly believe that we will again popularize small football in Slovakia. I hope that as many fans as possible from all over Slovakia will find their way to Galanta. The teams that will be presented in Galanta are among the best that the minifootball scene has to offer and I believe that the sports fans will really get an amazing experience,” wished Peter Králik.

Live broadcasting

Great news for all fans of minifootball in Slovakia is that those who will not be able to visit Galanta in person will be able to watch the seven matches of the EMF Nations Games live on RTVS screens.

There will be also online live broadcasting for all the minifootball fans all around Europe and worldwide. The exact setup of how and where to watch will be announced soon…

Match schedule

Sunday (May 7th)

11:00 – 18:30 group stage matches

Monday (May 8th)

10:00 a 12:00 5th place game (double match)

13:30 semifinals game 1

15:00 semifinals game 2

16:45 bronze medal game

18:15 finals