By Bjorn Trautwein
Journalists, politicians and clergy play football in their free time so that others can be helped.
No headlines, hardly any spectators, but a lot of sweat and even more fun: in Berlin, not only the professionals from Union Berlin and Hertha BSC kick the round ball. There is also kicking in the amateur leagues and – even wilder – in the colorful leagues. They are not part of official club football, but organize themselves in their own leagues.
Right at the forefront: the Berlin-Brandenburg Media League. Here representatives from the Tagesspiegel, Radio Fritz, FluxFM, Die Zeit, BILD and various advertising agencies compete against each other. The current champion is the “Berlin Heroes” team with players from Axel Springer SE.
There are also teams from the police, the Federal Police or, for everyone, the teams from the Open Football League Berlin“ in several districts. One of them is the Diocese League, in which Catholics who have been playing football have been meeting on the pitch for 30 years – prayers to the god of football included.
The FC Bundestag in action Photo: picture alliance / Beautiful Sports
In addition to the competition, the main focus is on enjoying the game. “Of course we also want to be number 1 on the pitch and beat the teams from other publishers,” says Moritz Seyffarth, a player in the “Berlin Heroes” (sponsored by BZ).
“But despite all the rivalry, it is above all a nice opportunity to come into contact with other media.” The game is played on half the soccer field with a goalkeeper and six field players. Other advantages: “There is no offside and sliding tackles are forbidden,” says Seyffarth. Training is also rare in the media league: “We are a tournament team!”
There are also few spectators and, unlike the professionals, you don’t earn money here, but donate it.
Because the kicking here is not only for honor and for three points, but also for a good cause. The Medienliga Berlin-Brandenburg eV has been supporting the deaf referee Ricardo Scheuerer since the beginning of the year. A donation from all teams finances the sign language interpreting he needs to take part in the game and for further training.
The media kickers have a commitment to a social cause in common with many other fun teams. If you’re not one of the best kickers, at least you’re playing for a good cause.
► Once a year in Berlin pastors play against imams. The goal: more tolerance and understanding between religions.
► The Bundestag also has a team with representatives from various parties (ex-Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer used to play there), who regularly collect donations at charity games. There is currently even a woman in the squad and on the pitch with Tina Winkelmann from the Greens.
► Also once a year in Potsdam, players from embassy representations compete against each other in the “Embassy Cup”. There, too, donations are always collected for social projects.
Football connects. In Berlin and worldwide, it doesn’t matter how well you kick the ball.