Whistles, stopwatches, measuring tapes, starting blocks and clappers as well as cones – when FC Bayern offered around 70 members the exclusive opportunity to take the German Sports Badge at its Campus, young and old were reminded of the times when they competed for sporting records at school in the Federal Youth Games. President Herbert Hainer personally gave the starting signal for the 3000-metre run, and world champion Hans Pflügler, basketball legend Steffen Hamann and FC Bayern Women mascot Mia took part in the strength, endurance, speed and coordination disciplines. “A club wants to encourage people to get moving,” said Hainer, who presented gifts from the club at the end. “Doing sport together promotes cohesion and dialogue – you can only see smiling faces here today. Everyone is happy about what they have experienced.”
Over one million people in Germany take the Sports Badge every year, revealed Kiki Hasenpusch, deputy managing director of FC Bayern, in her welcoming address as she wished the participants aged between 14 and 67 “every success and, above all, enjoyment, because for us as a club it's about the togetherness that sport conveys”. There was a choice of 50- or 100-metre sprint, skipping, standing long jump, Schleuderball and 800- or 3000-metre run. “I've never done or seen Schleuderball before,” marvelled Pflügler, who mastered all the exercises to win gold just a few weeks after his 65th birthday. “When you take part, you want to give your best performance – it was fun. It's a great, really nice event and I think it's great that FC Bayern offers something like this. It's fundamentally important to exercise – if you do sport, you always feel good.”
Steffen Hamann: ‘Sport just makes everyone happy!’
Hamann, long-time captain of the FC Bayern basketball team, also got the bug. “I love sport, and it's cool to try out disciplines here that I've never done before, like Schleuderball, or that have been around for ages, like the standing long jump,” he said. “A club lives off its members, and on a day like this you realise that sport just makes everyone happy!” Wolfgang Wimmer, who was at the start with his son-in-law, found it particularly motivating that two former professionals, Pflügler and Hamann, had taken part: “Hans Pflügler was someone you looked up to as a young person. Every club should offer the opportunity to take a sports badge: it was fun. I've been a member and fan of FC Bayern for a long time, and today has made me even more connected to my club.”
Felix Söllner, a member for over 20 years, thought “the team spirit was great: you cheer each other on, you support each other, that was the most fun apart from the variety of disciplines”. Stefan Settele had run 27 kilometres with 1,000 metres of altitude in the mountains in Garmisch the day before (“that's my thing”) and said he was delighted that FC Bayern was offering the sports badge. “I've been a fan since I was little, Bayern is my club, so it was clear to me that I would take part!” For Theresa Melde, who competed against Pflügler in the sprint, such activities exclusively for members are what makes FC Bayern so special. “It creates a feeling of togetherness, you really are part of the club,” she said.
‘This is real Mia san mia!’
She thinks the variety of member events is cool, from Stammtisch to behind-the-scenes formats. “And today it wasn't just about going somewhere and watching something, but about actively doing sport – I thought that was great”. Twenty-three-year-old Noah Lau plays American football for the Razorbacks in Ravensburg and has been a fan of FC Bayern “for as long as I can remember”. He was “tempted by the self-challenge to push himself to his limits and FC Bayern is the first club I've heard of that does this”. It's a great offering, he added: “Anyone can take part, no matter how old, you feel solidarity, get to know each other, nobody is marginalised. It's just real ‘Mia san ia’ – everyone for the club, everyone together.”
Hainer also felt transported back to his youth. “I always enjoyed taking part in the Federal Youth Games and also did the Sports Badge,” he recalled. “I liked running and long jump the most – it’s just nice to see again here today how enthusiastic everyone is about sport.”
Members of the fan dialogue working group met at the Allianz Arena on Sunday:
