Spain derby kicks off EU campaign

By Katya Adler
BBC News, Madrid

Football fans were given pamphlets outlining the EU plans

The Spanish government has used Madrid's biggest annual football derby to spread the word about the European Union constitution.

Around 70,000 football fans were given information about the constitution before Sunday's match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

The move was part of the publicity campaign ahead of a referendum on the proposed text next month.

For many, it was an unusual start to a football match.

Instead of 22 beefy sportsmen on the pitch, the 70,000 spectators in Madrid's Vincente Calderon stadium watched a procession of 25 Spanish schoolchildren, each carrying the flag of an EU member state as they listened to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - the EU's anthem.

Ignorance

Atletico Madrid's President Enrique Cerezo said he thought it was a great idea.

Football, with its mass following, he says, is an ideal medium to spread a message.

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The EU constitution

Spain's football clubs are trying to encourage fans to vote in the referendum because the EU constitution is vital for the future of Europe.

Information pamphlets on the EU constitution are to be handed out at all Spanish first and second division matches in the lead up to the referendum on 20 February.

The Spanish government knows it is a race against time. Opinion polls show up to 90% of Spaniards know little or nothing about the EU constitution.

Lithuania and Hungary, both among the 10 countries to join the EU last May, have both ratified the new EU constitution in a parliamentary vote.

The other 23 countries must all approve the document by parliamentary vote or referendum before it can take effect.