Members' Schafkopf: Tradition is FC Bayern's trump card

The card game of Schafkopf has been part of Bavarian culture for generations – and since tradition is a trump card for the German champions, the exclusive tournament for members at the Clubhouse *1900 on the FC Bayern Campus has become well established. At the fourth event in the last three years, vice-president Professor Dr Dieter Mayer welcomed the 43 members, who had been drawn from over 420 applications. “One table, four places, eight cards – countless stories: nobody is alone in Schafkopf,” he said. “Even if the cards aren't always the best, everyone’s having fun. FC Bayern brings people together beyond sport.”

Joining the members at the table, albeit not competing for prizes, were World Cup winner Raimond Aumann, basketball legend Steffen Hamman and Karl Hopfner, former president and now chairman of FC Bayern Hilfe eV. Mayer has been at every edition of the event to date, as has Jürgen Muth, the managing director of the Allianz Arena. Hamann explainaed that he grew up in a small village near Bamberg and first came into contact with Schafkopf with the voluntary fire brigade, while Mayer also recalled memories: “I learned it from my dad, by watching in the pub.” Aumann described himself as “a calm player, not aggressive”.

In the end, Klaus Korber (48 points) came out on top ahead of Gerald Schunko (46) and Anton Ebner (37). The prizes were sweaters and shirts from the exclusive FC Bayern members collection. All participants received a certificate and a “125 Years FC Bayern” keychain. A buffet was open to everyone throughout the evening, which some had come an extra long way for – the longest journey was clocked up by Christof Schmeller, who travelled 380 kilometres and over four hours.

In recent years, FC Bayern has increasingly offered regular face-to-face events for its members, explained managing director Benny Folkmann: “Continuous dialogue with our members is very important to us as a club. We want to be approachable, a family – despite and especially now having over 400,000 members.” The specially developed dialogue formats range from regular member get-togethers in Munich, ‘away’ get-togethers in Hamburg, Leipzig, Cologne and Salzburg, for example, to workshops, quiz evenings, darts tournaments, active sporting events and even Schafkopf tournaments, Folkmann continued. ‘We want to stir our members and engage in dialogue with them, because it is important to us to make FC Bayern tangible and alive.”

Already this year there have been a big anniversary get-together for the club’s 125th birthday, the opportunity for sports enthusiasts to complete the German Sports Badge as well as behind-the-scenes events at the basketball at the SAP Garden and at an FC Bayern Women match at the Campus, among other things. In Jnuary, there was also a weekend dedicated to Holocaust remembrance organised by ‘Red against Racism’, and just recently the  ‘FC Bayern Show’ in Bonn was flanked by a new ‘Future Lab’ to discuss topics of the future with members. There are also targeted activations for the new TEENS CLUB for fans aged 14 to 17.

Rounding off the Schafkopf tournament, a joke from vice-president Mayer gave everyone a laugh. The general summary from the members as they left the Cluhouse *1900: one evening, one game, one club and a feeling that connects everyone.

Several members attended the FC Bayern Show in Bonn: