Slovenia fans at Euro 2024 will be one of the most passionate fanbases in Germany this summer. It will be their first appearance in a major tournament since the 2010 World Cup.
England will face Slovenia in their final Group C match at UEFA Euro 2024. The match will take place on June 25 at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
It is not the first time the two nations have met in a major tournament, as England beat Slovenia 1-0 in the 2010 World Cup.
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Absolutely proud moment for Slovenia! 🇸🇮⚽️ The national football team has officially qualified for Euro 2024. Let’s unite in pride and anticipation for the journey ahead! 🙌🏆 @nzs_si @uefa2024 #ifeelslovenia #sloveniaoutdoor
📍 Stožice @visitljubljana pic.twitter.com/mhUr22waOw
— Feel Slovenia (@SloveniaInfo) November 20, 2023
How many Slovenia fans at Euro 2024?
At the end of 2023, Radenko Mijatović, president of the Football Association of Slovenia (NZS), said: “There will be great interest in Slovenia’s matches in Germany. The venue is close by and Germany offers a huge degree of comfort. Many people will want to go to the matches and UEFA will distribute 10,000 tickets for each match to each participating country.” The winners of these 10,000 tickets will be decided by a lottery.
However, 500 tickets will be specifically allocated to Slovenia fans at Euro 2024 named ‘United Fans of Slovenia.’ The press officer of the (NZS) Matjaž Krajnik, spoke to RTV Slovenija in December 2023 about the distribution of tickets to fan groups such as the United Fans of Slovenia.
He said: “UEFA has allowed football associations to reserve up to 500 tickets for organized fan groups in the Fans First sectors of stadiums. In the last qualifiers, an organized fan group, United Fans of Slovenia, was formed, supporting the national team in an organized manner at all matches. The group’s members, through their representative, approached the NZS before the draw for assistance in group ticket purchases.
“Therefore, at the NZS, we accommodated them by obtaining accessible codes for organized fan groups and forwarded them to the group’s representative. Unused codes will automatically return to general sale or the draw. These tickets were not mentioned in the news about public sales because they were intended for the organized fan group, and the distribution of codes itself occurs within the group. If the long-term effect of having more vocal Slovenian fans in the organized fan sector is achieved, then we have reached our goal.”
Who are the United Fans of Slovenia?
The supporters group, United Fans of Slovenia, began appearing at matches in 2022. They were present for all five home matches in the Euro 2024 qualifying group against Denmark, Finland, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, and San Marino. According to Football Planet, “Initially, they were just a few, but by the end of the Euro 2024 qualifiers, their numbers grew significantly, creating a magnificent atmosphere at the matches of the Slovenian national team without the slightest doubt.”
Slovenia fans: ‘No time for the homeland’
A longstanding issue in Slovenian football has been the lack of support for the national team and dwindling attendances, particularly since the last major tournament qualification in 2010. For Slovenia Under 21’s match against Boznia and Herzegovina on March 22, 2023, the attendance was 1,024 at Fazanerija Stadium, meaning it was largely empty as the capacity can reach nearly 5,000.
In response to the lack of interest in the Under 21 team, who are top of their 2025 European Under 21 Championship qualifying group, the United Fans of Slovenia group unveiled a banner that said: “No time for the homeland? But everyone would go watch Ronaldo!”
Absolutely proud moment for Slovenia! 🇸🇮⚽️ The national football team has officially qualified for Euro 2024. Let’s unite in pride and anticipation for the journey ahead! 🙌🏆 @nzs_si @uefa2024 #ifeelslovenia #sloveniaoutdoor
📍 Stožice @visitljubljana pic.twitter.com/mhUr22waOw
— Feel Slovenia (@SloveniaInfo) November 20, 2023
You can also look at the @zdruzeni_navijaci_slovenije page on Instagram to see various pre-match pyro displays and banners from Slovenia’s main supporters’ group. They are likely to post updates of Slovenia fans at Euro 2024 when the tournament starts in June.