Cologne tournament as a “sign against stupid competitive thinking”
1. FC Köln, Fortuna Köln and Viktoria compete against each other in a mini-city tournament. But the event is much less about football; other signals are to be set.
For a good cause: the city tournament is taking place in the Höhenberg sports park.
imago images / Uwe Kraft
Next Friday, a tournament of great symbolic power for Cologne will take place at Sportpark Höhenberg, home of third division club FC Viktoria Köln on the right bank of the Rhine. The three big clubs – FC, Fortuna and Viktoria – compete in a mini-tournament, whereby this event is much less about football than about a good cause and a good relationship with one another.
The proceeds from the event – Viktoria is hoping for around 7,000 spectators – will go to Cologne’s homeless people, around 6,000 people without permanent residence in the metropolis.
FC managing director Alexander Wehrle told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”: “We all agreed that we want to set an example with the tournament. We, the three largest football clubs in Cologne, have the opportunity to publicly use our reach To draw attention to these issues and to make an appeal to society. ” The initiator of the good cause was Viktoria managing director Andreas Rettig, who opened doors for colleagues Wehrle and Fortuna boss Hanns-Jörg Westendorf.
Games by junior teams from the three clubs start the afternoon from 3 pm, at 5 pm the “big ones” compete against each other for 45 minutes each. First, Viktoria plays against Fortuna, which then meets FC, before the Bundesliga club ends the evening with the game against Viktoria Köln.
Separating walls are to be removed
In addition to the popular competition during the break in the league, the main aim of the participants is to remove walls that separate them. The youth teams will wear special jerseys with the logos of the three clubs, 1111 fan scarves with the coats of arms of the three clubs will be sold. Rettig: “We want to set an example against the stupid competitive thinking within the city. It’s balla balla WHEN a nine-year-old from Viktoria sees the boy of the same age at Fortuna as an enemy.”
The prices on Friday are extremely moderate. Rettig emphasizes: “Our motto is: football must be affordable.” The standing room costs five euros, the seat 15 euros, and local public transport can be used with the tickets.