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“Dream big and respect other people”: the French football star and UEFA ambassador Eric Abidal gives Football for Friendship Young Journalist an exclusive interview

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Eric Abidal
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The former French international and two-time winner of the Champions League with FC Barcelona supports the Gazprom International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship (F4F) in his capacity as a UEFA ambassador. As part of the Good News Show, he answered the questions of the 15-year-old F4F Young Journalist Irintsoa Rakotomamonjy from Madagascar.

Today, Eric Abidal is a football manager. He told the Young Journalist that the most emotional moment of his career had been his return to his team after an operation following a cancer diagnosis in March 2011. With his children’s cancer charity, which he founded in 2015, he wanted to make a contribution to the fight against this illness. And it was his dream to conquer cancer completely. He added that during the corona pandemic his charity – and also that of his wife – had tried, in spite of the lockdown, to stay in touch with the children it supports, and had visited them in hospital and brought them small gifts.

When Irintsoa told him that boys and girls in the F4F programme played in a team with equal rights, Eric Abidal replied that women’s football had already made enormous progress and was continuing to grow. He was convinced that women are showing the world that they can develop similar abilities to those of men. He predicted that women’s football would have become a global sport in 10 years’ time.

For him, it was very important to experience the emotionality of football on the playing field. But in sport too digitisation was gaining ground. He thought that in 10 years’ time e-sport would be the number one sport. Irintsoa explained that, in the case of F4F, the Championships in 2020 and 2021 were contested in a digital format.

The Young Journalist went on to tell her famous interview partner that the participants in F4F shared the programme’s Nine Values: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions and honour. When asked which value was the most important for him, Eric Abidal said it was friendship. For him, this included a good relationship with everyone, teamwork, and respect for others.

As a successful footballer, his advice to young people who are striving for a career in sport was, above all, to respect other people, their parents, their teachers, their trainers and their friends. And they should have big dreams, which of course they would have to work hard to achieve. To see the interview, please click on the following link: https://youtu.be/GhLvsy_tQbQ.

Following the ZOOM-interview with the Young Journalist from the F4F Press Centre, Eric Abidal held a short football training session with the 13-year-old F4F 2021 participant from Belgium Elias Ali Mohamad. After a short warm-up phase, Abidal showed his young training partner a few tricks and encouraged him to practise them with him. This episode can be viewed by clicking on the following video link: https://youtu.be/bsK04TU0ZV8.

Before Eric Abidal, the UEFA ambassadors Luis Garcia from Spain, Kelly Smith from England and Robert Pirès from France had already taken part in #STADIUMISWHEREIAM and had spoken on the Good News Show with the Young Journalist about Football for Friendship, their life and their career.

As part of #STADIUMISWHEREIAM, the following sports stars also showed what they can do: Anton Pawlinow, two-time freestyle world champion from Russia, Andreas Cetkovic, French freestyle football champion with the S3 Freestyle Crew, and the six-time freestyle world champion Mélody Donchet.

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

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bet365 PARTNERS WITH INSPIRED ENTERTAINMENT TO LAUNCH A BESPOKE GAME: SPIN O’REELY GRAND CHANCE

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Inspired Entertainment, Inc., a leading B2B provider of gaming content, systems, and solutions, is thrilled to announce the exclusive launch of its brand-new, bespoke slot game, Spin O’Reely Grand Chance, in collaboration with long time partners bet365.

Expanding bet365’s popular exclusive Irish-themed Spin O’Reely game series, the game will initially be available to players in the UK, Ontario, and New Jersey, with more markets to follow soon. The game can also be accessed via the bet365.com domain.

Spin O’Reely Grand Chance builds on Inspired’s successful Golden Winner slot, combining its fan-favourite mechanics with new features. This 5×3 slot includes a Free Spins bonus round with multipliers and the potential for additional Free Spins. Players will also discover dynamic reel upgrades, bell announcements, prize pots, a progressive bonus feature and the Golden Grand Chance Cherry feature.

Claire Osborne, VP of Interactive at Inspired Entertainment, said: “We’re thrilled to expand our long-standing partnership with bet365 through the launch of Spin O’Reely Grand Chance. By combining the proven mechanics of one of our top-performing titles with the lively charm of a bet365 Irish-themed classic, we’ve created a game that’s built for success. We can’t wait to see players enjoy it and look forward to building on this momentum together.”

A bet365 spokesperson said: “We are delighted to launch Spin O’Reely Grand Chance in collaboration with Inspired. This game combines enjoyable mechanics with innovative features that will provide our players entertaining gaming experience. We are confident that Spin O’Reely Grand Chance will be a popular addition to our portfolio of cutting-edge content.”

Experience the exciting new collaboration between bet365 and Inspired Entertainment with Spin O’Reely Grand Chance, available now exclusively at bet365.

The post bet365 PARTNERS WITH INSPIRED ENTERTAINMENT TO LAUNCH A BESPOKE GAME: SPIN O’REELY GRAND CHANCE appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Duelbits unveil Ivory Coast legend Salomon Kalou as Football Ambassador ahead of Africa Cup of Nations 2025

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Leading igaming operator Duelbits has today announced Ivory Coast & Chelsea legend Salomon Kalou as its latest Football Ambassador. Kalou, who won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with his country in 2015, will share his tips, insights and experience with Duelbits’ global customer base across the entire tournament.
During his playing career, the Ivorian who won 93 caps for his country, also won the Premier League and Champions League with Chelsea and had successful stints playing in Netherlands, France, Germany & Brazil. He joins an established list of partners with Duelbits that includes Professional Fighters League (PFL), Michael Bisping & Battle of the Beasts.
Salomon Kalou said of the partnership “I’m excited to be working with Duelbits for AFCON. This kind of partnership is a first for me so I’m enthusiastic to work with them as they look to connect with fans across Africa for what is sure to be a brilliant tournament.”
Jasper Hoekert, Chief Marketing Officer for Duelbits, echoed the sentiments “AFCON is a key event in the football calendar, and we’re thrilled to have a partner of Salomon’s stature as part of the team. He’ll provide our players with valuable insights and memorable content that is sure to enhance the football betting experience during the tournament.”
Alongside his punditry for SuperSport, Kalou will provide weekly blogs with AFCON betting insights, social media activations and work on exclusive giveaways with Duelbits as they ramp up their football output ahead of what promises to be a massive 2026.

The post Duelbits unveil Ivory Coast legend Salomon Kalou as Football Ambassador ahead of Africa Cup of Nations 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Strategic partnership: GKL opts for complete solution from adesso

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GKL Gemeinsame Klassenlotterie der Länder (A.ö.R.) is taking the next major step in its digital transformation. The company has awarded the contract for its new lottery system to IT service provider adesso. In a Europe-wide tender process, adesso won out over international competitors with its comprehensive package of solutions.

At the heart of the partnership is the development and implementation of a completely new lottery system based on adesso’s own LotteryForce platform. The solution is complemented by a high-performance customer relationship management system based on Salesforce technology and secure, future-proof hosting on the adesso business cloud, operated in Germany. Ongoing IT operations will be handled by a specialised application management team from adesso.

The project volume amounts to around 32 million euros. The contract between the two partners will run for a period of 15 years.

Future-proof platform for a traditional lottery format

GKL Gemeinsame Klassenlotterie der Länder (A.ö.R.) is a lottery provider supported by all 16 German federal states, and is also the organiser of the NKL and SKL lotteries. Following the modernisation of its core technical system, GKL is repositioning its platform for the coming years with the aim of optimising processes, providing better support for sales partners and further developing the customer experience.

“In adesso, we have found a partner who understands our industry, knows our structures and has the technological expertise to deliver an integrated, end-to-end solution,” says Jörg Scheidhammer, CIO at GKL. “Not only does adesso offer the best technology, but it also provides a team that will support us holistically on our journey over the next 15 years.”

Setting a course for the lottery’s future

The first project phase will begin in January 2026. Going forward, sales partners are also set to benefit from the new platform. Innovative enhancements such as new game concepts will be integrated into the system, with initial concepts already in planning.

Marc Lorek, Vice President, Lottery Development, adesso SE, says: “The platform will be at the cutting edge of technology, while also setting new standards in terms of customer loyalty, performance and scalability.” Andreas Luckmann, Vice President, Lottery Consulting & Sales, adesso SE, adds: “This marks a whole new beginning for GKL and a flagship project for us. It will see us establishing ourselves as a key strategic partner in the European lottery market.”

The post Strategic partnership: GKL opts for complete solution from adesso appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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