How to run a UEFA European Championship saw- Ben Lucey Senior Operations Events Manager, Wales FA

In this special interview episode of The Business of Football Network, David Chimbaza sits down with Ben Lucey, Senior Event Operations Manager at the Football Association of Wales, who served as the project lead for the UEFA Under-19 European Championships hosted across North Wales. With the tournament final between Germany and Spain unfolding as this episode is released, David and Ben reflect on what it took to deliver a world-class international event in venues and communities that were not traditionally used to this level of football. Ben shares how the vision behind the tournament was to celebrate 150 years of the FAW by bringing the best of Europe to North Wales, the home where the association was founded, and how that decision created both meaningful opportunities and real operational challenges. He outlines the conversations with local clubs, the infrastructure improvements at grounds like Carnarvon, Denbigh and Bangor, and the journey of working alongside UEFA’s highly structured delivery model to meet their standards while adapting to the landscape of smaller communities and multi-venue logistics. The discussion also covers the scale of the operation, the mix of staff and volunteers involved, how the tournament has been embraced by communities across Wales, and the powerful community moments that have emerged—from school children welcoming visiting teams to disability teams training internationally and clubs hosting their own European fixtures in the tournament’s wake. Ben reflects on what the experience has taught him about leadership, communication and working under intense pressure, and why he believes the legacy of this tournament goes far beyond the final match day. For anyone interested in events, operations, and the structure of international football, this episode offers an honest and detailed perspective from the person at the heart of delivering a major UEFA tournament, showing how vision, collaboration and community buy-in can turn a complex project into a landmark moment for football in Wales.   BREAKING IN BOOK: https://amzn.eu/d/0ifGoYmo ACCESS OUR FREE FOOTBALL NETWORKING GUIDE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffMip0TFkgJOoo9ptbH9uZ67fTWvFai57QPBOy07J7D80J8A/viewform OUR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-chimbaza-/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebusinessoffootballpodcast/ Tik Tok : https://www.tiktok.com