Events

Anna Weltner reports on the first Spirit of Football championship in Erfurt.

First Tournament: You can’t win them all!

The very first Spirit of Football tournament was held at in Erfurt’s Nordpark. Though the quality of football was very good, player turnout was sadly very low. Storm clouds loomed over the field, threatening to break loose. The players and organizers of the event could only hide from the rain and hope for a more agreeable second match.

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Second Tournament: Spring is in the air

The second Spirit of Football tournament took place amid sunshine and daisies at the Heinrich Mann Gymnasium playing field. Around five teams turned out for the event, and the games included players of all different sizes, all of them under 14.

Spring was in the air, and the mood on the playing field was overwhelmingly more positive than that of the first. And while everyone wanted to win, it is the taking part that is important at a Spirit of Football game. Taking part fairly can even score a player some extra fairness points for his or her team.

SOF ‘s Sven Söderberg and I talked to some of the players and organizers of the tournament to ask them how they prepared, how long they’d been playing football (soccer) and how they came up with their intimidating team names.

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Third Tournament: Mud bath

On a lush green meadow on the University of Erfurt campus, the third Spirit of Football tournament proved a big hit, despite unreliable spring weather. The players were all grown up this time (18+) and a record 20 teams turned out to compete.
After an exciting match, teams SV Catenaccio, Bosporus-Team, StuRa Big 5, Juventus Urin and Erfurt University-Team went on qualify for the final tournament, held the following weekend at Domplatz in Erfurt, in the context of the “Lange Nacht des Sports”.

Erfurter superstar DJ Mensa-Jürgen spun hits and kept the spirits high, while exchange students from all over Europe and the world gave the games an international flair (and gave me a chance to do some interviews in English!).

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Fourth Tournament: Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

The fourth and final tournament, held at Domplatz in Erfurt, was a smashing success. Just one week before the kickoff of the World Cup, teams of all ages and backgrounds came together to play the beautiful game amid the most beautiful weather of the season.

Sven Soederburg and I, lacking a microphone, interviewed the onlookers and participants with a vuvuzela, favorite noise-maker of South African soccer fans. The mayor of Erfurt, Andreas Bausewein, made a personal appearance to congratulate winning team FC Catenaccio on their excellent sportsmanship and fair play.

After the game, I spoke to Bausewein briefly about the importance of sports in the community. The celebrations at the final tournament were a testament to a job well done. There was nothing left to say but “Herzlichen Glückwunsch!” to all participants, organizers and of course to winning team FC Catenaccio.