The N’Joy Unileague (minifootball) Championship, on a Panhelladic scale, has without doubt come to be the most significant and well-known minifootball event in Greece.
The event takes place with the support of major companies – sponsors, the main /Grand sponsor being FAGE under the brand of N’Joy (chocolate milk) since 2010. The Championship used to have the support of Nestle Hellas under the brand of Nescafe from 2007 to 2010. From 2004 to 2007 the Unileague was supported and sponsored by Forthnet (telecommunications company), while it was also supported by many other companies periodically, many of which continue to do so up to the present. For example Red Bull following Gatorade (Pepsi) in the sector of energy drink, Joma following Puma, Legea and Le Coq Sportif in the sector of official player outfits, ANEK Lines, Peoplecert Group, Joe Weider Gyms, Nikon, Atari, Marfin Bank, Geniki Bank, TUI Hellas, G Net, are some of the companies which have entrusted and sponsored the N’Joy Unileague during the last decade. Furthermore, a plethora of communication sponsors have undertaken the advertising and promotion of the Institution of the N’Joy Unileague. Indicatively inter alia we mention the radio stations NovaSport FM, Mad radio, the TV station Mad TV, the newspapers Sportday, Metro, Kingbet, the popular portals www.sport-fm.gr, www.sday.gr, as well as Lighthouse Webdesign & Database Applications, which has undertaken the support of the official website. In the provincial cities, in which the event takes place there are also many local communication sponsors who support the N’Joy Unileague on a local level.
The N’Joy Unileague takes place annually from November to May each year in Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraclion, Patras, Volos, Lamia, Chalkida, Rethymnon, Chania and Amaliada – Pyrgos, i.e. some of the major Greek cities. The facilities which are chosen are state of the art from all aspects (technological stand point- tartan used etc, security, stands for spectators, other facilities e.g. changing rooms, showers etc), easily accessible by everybody (multiple means of transport).
The number of the participating teams in the N’Joy Unileague each year surpasses 400 (in total over 3.500 participants on average). Most of them (more than 50%) are University or College students, male, the average age is 24,5 years, from all over Greece. Most games are watched by a significant number of spectators, a number which increases dramatically from the pre – finals and on, reaching a peak point during the annual Panhellenic Finals Fiesta.
The Unileague is widely known due to its wide expansion all over Greece and the great publicity it attracts thanks to effective promotion and advertising. Consequently, spectatorship at games is very satisfying.
It is a fact that the Unileague, because of its youthful profile as well as the importance of its supporting companies, attracts the attention of the Press, which on a regular basis reports on the progress of the Championship, with photo coverage, team and player interviews. To a great extent, the network of communication sponsors has played a great role but the coverage does not end there, as plethora of athletic, musical, political means (newspapers, magazines, radios etc) also take interest in the Championship.
Each season closes in the best possible manner with an impressive Finals event. Every year the final phase of the N’Joy Unileague takes place in Athens, where the champion teams of all participating cities are hosted for 3 days (all expenses covered) in order to compete for the title of the N’Joy Unileague Greece – Cyprus Champion. The sponsors and the Grand Sponsor in particular play the main part in the Finals event and are continuously promoted through various means.
Many prominent artists have taken part and supported the Finals Fiesta and the consequent show that takes place within the event, for e.g. the popular Greek artist, singer, actor Yiannis Zouganelis hosted the N’Joy Unileague 7 Fiesta, followed by Michael Emirlis and his band (popular Greek artist) who gave a wonderful performance in the N’Joy Unileague 8 Fiesta etc. Also worth mentioning is the appearance and participation of the cheerleaders of the team Olympiacos, the official mascot of the Championship, the well-known athletic host Mike Fountedakis, the presence of official representatives from the sponsors, of renowned athletes (Sigalas, Anastopoulos, Papanastasiou etc) as well as of several hundreds of spectators (many of which had travelled from other cities for the purpose of supporting their team) who filled the facility. For the last 3 years the N’Joy Unileague Finals Fiesta has had live coverage and simultaneous broadcast from all major provincial channels (Star Central Greece, TRT, KIDON TV Crete and Super B TV).