/ DFB

No soccer without volunteering: German soccer says thank you

To mark International Volunteer Day on December 5, the German Football Association (DFB) and the DFL German Football League are joining forces to send out a message: "Thank you to volunteers!"

On match days 13 and 14 of the Bundesliga and 15 and 16 of the Bundesliga 2 (5 to 7 December and 12 to 14 December), professional soccer will pay tribute to the people who otherwise work in the background. Around 1.7 million committed people often invest 15 to 20 hours a week, without pay. Their commitment has a theoretical value of 2.18 billion euros per year. But they don't do it for the money, they do it for the love of soccer.

"This work is priceless"

"Without volunteers, there would be no soccer in Germany," says Peter Frymuth, DFB Vice President Match Operations and Football Development."Every club, every training session, every match depends on the commitment of people who give their time and dedication to soccer. They do this out of conviction and passion. This work is priceless, and it is often neglected in our society. We want to show this with the action match days: We see this commitment, we appreciate it and we say thank you. Because without volunteering, there would be no goals, no cheering, no community and no sporting home for many children and young people."

The picture shows a person holding a red drinking bottle and standing in a shelf space. Shelves with blue textiles and plastic boxes can be seen in the background. To the left of the picture is a graphic area with the logo of the German Football Association (DFB) and large text: "EINE GEHT NOCH, EINE GEHT NOCH REIN! Volunteering is priceless. Thank you to everyone who has everything up and running. dfb.de/ehrenamt".
Photo: DFB

The "Danke ans Ehrenamt" initiative has been around since 1999. This year, 61 clubs from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2, Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga, Bundesliga 3 and, for the first time, the Futsal Bundesliga are taking part. Banners in the stadium and accompanying social media campaigns make the message visible.

DFB and BFV say thank you!

But the appreciation does not end at the stadium. The DFB has created numerous initiatives to make commitment visible and reward it. Every year, particularly committed volunteers are included in the Club 100 and invited to a day of recognition at the Football Museum in Dortmund, including an escort and two international match tickets. In addition, 262 district winners are honored each year in all soccer districts in Germany. Young volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30 can take part in a five-day educational trip to the Costa Brava. These measures and many others have one goal: to say thank you to the people who keep soccer alive in Germany.

Kategorien: DFB

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