Denmark is Mamuka's Second Homeland

Dana Cup 2025 is the 31st time Mamuka Kvaratskhelia has been part of the football tournament in Hjørring and he has become an icon. With that name, it's no secret that Denmark is not his homeland. Mamuka was born and raised in Tbilisi - the capital of Georgia. But even as a boy, he developed an interest he didn't share with many people.

"I read Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, and especially ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier’ touched me deeply. Denmark became a boyhood dream for me, but when I was a child, my home country of Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, and the boyhood dream had no chance of coming true. But the fairy tales were the springboard to my lifelong interest in Denmark, and today I consider Denmark my second homeland,” smiles Mamuka, who besides Hans Christian Andersen has of course also read Danish authors such as Karen Blixen and Martin Andersen Nexø.

Denmark has really gotten under the skin of Mamuka, who is a trained journalist and is currently working on a book about Danish history - in Georgian and of course for publication in Georgia.

“I have a big house in Tbilisi and anyone visiting me don’t question my love for Denmark. I have all kinds of pictures, including of the royal family, and one of the rooms in the house I jokingly call the Danish Free Hostel. Danes visiting Georgia and Tbilisi are welcome to come and visit me and, of course, spend the night for free. Among other things, I have had the entire Danish press corps visiting when Denmark played a qualifying match against Georgia,” smiles Mamuka, who has worked as a journalist and tour manager for Georgian teams during his many years at the Dana Cup.

Dana Cup Hjørring 2025
Foto: Hans Ravn

Dana Cup Hjørring 2025
Foto: Hans Ravn

Dana Cup Hjørring 2025
Foto: Hans Ravn