FC Bayern believes that even when things are going your way, it is essential not to forget people in need. Immediately after returning from the Champions League match and audience with the Pope in Rome on Wednesday, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge travelled to the Bayernkaserne former military facility in Munich, currently in use as a refugee admission centre. The FCB chairman joined Bavarian sports and interior minister Joachim Herrmann, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Holger Badstuber for a meeting with around 250 young people.
In conjunction with partner adidas, FC Bayern provided 250 tracksuits, 250 hoodies, caps and footballs to the “unaccompanied minors” – youths aged between 14 and 18 who have arrived in Germany without parents or family members.
“This is only a little help, but we hope it’s a start,” Rummenigge commented. “These young people have nothing except what they’re wearing at the moment. I think it is our humanitarian duty to help them and others, and we hope other folk might perhaps follow our lead. It would be a good sign.”
Basti and Holger: It made us stop and think
Sports and interior minister Herrmann said: “FC Bayern is setting a good example. Football as a team sport can help these youths in their tough situation.” Herrmann expressed hope that support for and solidarity with the young refugees would continue among the general public.
“The situation these young people are in made us stop and think,” said Germany internationals Schweinsteiger and Badstuber. “They’ve come to a foreign country with no parents or relations and no obvious future, and are exclusively dependent on the help and humanity of others. It was wonderful that our visit and the footballs we’ve brought with us brought joy and a sparkle to these youths’ eyes at least for a few moments.”
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