At the end, Manuel Neuer pulled his jersey out of his rucksack, signed it with a personal dedication and gave it to Mermoz, who could hardly believe his luck. Before the kick-off of FC Bayern's 8-1 win over Mainz 05, the 15-year-old had loudly read out the name of his idol with the number 1 as part of the 'A Voice for Diversity' campaign when Stephan Lehmann read out the team line-up. Later in the Mixed Zone, he had an exchange with the FCB goalkeeper. Mermoz himself plays in net for the street footballers of "buntkicktgut" and wants to be Neuer's successor, said his teammates at the meeting in the catacombs of the Allianz Arena. "I'd be delighted," replied Neuer, before making way for Thomas Müller, Harry Kane and Matthijs de Ligt, among others, after many more photos and autographs for everyone. Müller said mischievously to the "buntkicktgut" guests as he said goodbye: "You've brought us real luck today!"
Meetings is the overarching theme of 2024 for the FCB initiative 'Red against Racism' – and at the start of the International Weeks against Racism, the club set another example with "buntkicktgut" of how enriching diversity can be. "It was a wonderful experience for all involved," said president Herbert Hainer. "The kids did a great job, there were no signs of nerves. They came across like true pros, as if they'd done it millions of times before. With this campaign, we wanted to show how important cohesion is by interacting with the fans in the stands – and that we should always make sure to listen to everyone. The people from 'buntkicktgut' with their inspiring life stories are great role models for successful integration."
With this campaign, we wanted to show how important cohesion is by interacting with the fans in the stands – and that we should always make sure to listen to everyone.
Herbert Hainer
From street footballers to lawyers, from short-tempered goalkeepers to prudent teachers, to people who pay attention to the big picture and have experienced for themselves that the world is colourful – even on our own doorstep: the members of "buntkicktgut" stand for stories of how football can help people in the integration process, how they were taught values beyond the sidelines.
"Today was a great link-up with FC Bayern and all its fans, an incredible experience for all of us," said Rüdiger Heid, the founder of the "buntkicktgut" initiative. "We have been organising street football in a continuous league system with people from all over the world for over 25 years now, and we also attach great importance to the girls and boys showing that they can be proud of their development and the path they are taking in their lives. They can and are allowed to be self-confident, which you could also see today, as they did a fantastic job here in front of 75,000 people. I think it's a great idea that all voices have come together in this campaign to create a great atmosphere. Actions like this set the tone that our society needs – in the truest sense of the word."
The 'A Voice for Diversity' campaign will be continued by the FC Bayern basketball and women's teams during this year's International Weeks against Racism. All proceeds from the sales of products from the 'Red against Racism' collection in the FC Bayern store (online store) have gone to diversity-promoting organsations such as "buntkicktgut" since the initiative was launched in March 2020.
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