The Backroom Staff - Euro 2024 Volunteer: Drishti Punjabi

Euro 2024 Volunteer: Drishti Punjabi

Experiencing Euro 2024 and volunteering at major tournaments!

Drishti Punjabi already has extensive experience in football, having worked at the World Cup in Brazil, had multiple roles at the AIFF - the Indian FA - including partnerships with Liverpool FC and managing volunteers at the U17 Women's World Cup in 2022. Still her enthusiasm and curiosity for new experiences led her to volunteer at Euro 2024!

The European Championship is one of the biggest sporting events on the planet and Euro 2024 was the biggest Euro's ever. With official figures not yet confirmed, Euro 2024 is on course to break multiple attendance and tourism records. Owen Slot, Chief Sport Writer at The Times, puts it nicely, calling Euro 2024 “a tournament that will be remembered for many things, chiefly being that this was the event that the fans reclaimed.”

Drishti, and volunteers like her, play a crucial role in making this possible so everyone can experience a major tournament as the football festival it should be! In this interview, she tells me what it’s like being part of the tournament and how you can do it too.

The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and structure.

You were a flag bearer at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil - sounds very cool! How did you come across this?

We had a selection process for the 6 that would ultimately go for the World Cup. Here's a link, in case you would like to read how ´famous´ we got!

Two people were selected from three different cities, (six in total) - five of which were boys, which does not surprise me now, but it really did back when I was 16 years of age and just starting out my playing career.

We were on the field with the players with the FIFA Fairplay flag for the quarterfinal between Argentina & Switzerland. It was the first time my dad ever watched a football game! (but only because I was there!) It was my first time watching an international match LIVE! It was such an exciting moment for me, especially since I got to see Argentina play (and yes I am one of those who agrees Messi is better than Ronaldo).

What kind of volunteer jobs are there around a major football tournament?

There are a lot of roles - from accreditation, ticketing, venue management, volunteer management, accessibility at airports, hospitality,organizing ceremonies, media, sustainability, to helping people learn CPR and how to save a life, as we have those stalls as well at the fan zones. The Euro 2024 GmBH is the one that recruited all these volunteers.

At Euro 2024, I applied for roles in volunteer management, venue management, organising the ceremonies and sustainability.

The volunteers are actually a very diverse group. They are from different countries, work background and ages. Most speak German so communication is easy for everyone and overall, they are a nice and friendly bunch!

—^interviewer’s note: over 16,000 volunteers helped host Euro 2024 across the 10 host cities!

How does the ‘hiring process’ work for volunteers? - Did your past experience help you with the Euro role?

Yes, it absolutely did. I talked about working at the FIFA World Cup and working at other events, and my attention to detail. I do think my past experience played a role, because it gives me talking points and an advantage as compared to someone who has no work experience in the sporting industry.

After filling out the application form - which asked about our work experience, relevant volunteering experience and experience working in sports - I had a couple of interview rounds. After two rounds, I got an email confirming my work at the tournament!

We gave our top 4 interest areas, and then they decide which role we get (based on demand for each role) - we get a role from our top 4 areas so everyone is happy. We were informed about the role about 2 months later, once they had a chance to allot the volunteers to their departments.

Some volunteers have a set role and some volunteers are 'support' volunteers who get subbed in whenever someone calls in sick or cannot make it due to other reasons (ACE volunteers). We also have lead volunteers who take you to the location that you are working at for the day. They distribute food vouchers as well and they are the ones we speak to if we need a sub or if someone is leaving early or has any other emergency they are dealing with.

What was your role at Euro 2024 in Berlin?

I worked in the Sustainability department as a safeguarding volunteer.

So if anyone is harassed, discriminated against or sees someone being racist, then they can come talk to us. We have tents/booths set up at both the fan zones (At Brandenburger Tor or at Reichstag), which is primarily where I work. We deal with the police directly and inform them if they need to step in. We also have mental health professionals that are available to speak to any victims that may be there.

Shifts are for 6 hours each, either from 1.30-7.30 PM, as the fan zones open around 2 PM, or from 6.30 PM-00.30 AM, when the fan zones close.

—^interviewer’s note: ~6 millions people watched from official fan zones during the tournament, with maximum capacities of 10,000 at the Reichstag and 30,000 (!) at Brandenburger Tor

Do you get any cool perks?

I actually met Philipp Lahm (Tournament Director & World Cup Winner) during the trophy tour, which was open to the public. I took a couple pictures with Albärt, the mascot, and the trophy.

As volunteers, we get free snacks at the Volunteer Camp, which is where we assemble before all shifts. There, we get any new information that needs to be shared, distribute the food vouchers, and then we head off to our shifts from there.

You’ve seen so many sides within the football business - what are you hoping to do next?

Absolutely, I have been very lucky to be able to experience and work in multiple facets of the sport. It has been such a learning curve, meeting people from different backgrounds, working in different environments, different leaderships, different stress levels, and it has all brought me to where I am. I am lucky to be working at Euro 2024, and this is exactly why I came to Europe - to experience and enjoy the sporting ecosystem here! I am so grateful to be here, and to forge a path for myself that no one in my family has followed. I would like to continue working in the industry, even if that means I expand my work experience to other sports.

I am interested in multiple things and have worked across marketing, operations, education and events in the sport industry and would like to continue to do so. I have not limited myself in terms of sticking to just one department. I enjoy experimenting with different tasks that I haven’t done before and the learning curve that comes with it.

Any advice for others who are thinking about volunteering at a tournament?

I would say that the best thing is meeting a lot of new people from different backgrounds, and that sparks really interesting conversations. I understand that for introverts it can be daunting to meet and work with so many people, but it can be really rewarding and a great learning curve.

Also you get some perks! For instance, after my last shift I went to the Volunteer Centre & they gifted us a suitcase as a last thank you gift and that was very thoughtful (and a useful gift too).

There are multiple advantages, especially trying out new areas (and if you do not like it, you do not need to make a career out of it, but it is a good way to experiment).

Follow Drishti on LinkedIn and let her know you enjoyed the interview!

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