News blog about 1. FC Cologne
1. FC Köln welcomes the 160,000th. Member
Updated on January 17, 2026 – 3:12 p.mReading time: 17 minutes
1. FC Köln is playing first class again this season. In the news blog on t-online you will find all the important news about the Geißbockheim.
The 1. FC Cologne has its 160,000th on Saturday. Member welcomed into the FC family. Before the game against 1. FSV Mainz 05 kicked off, stadium announcer Michael Trippel, together with President Jörn Stobbe, honored the woman who had last registered with FC and was now the 160,000th. Is a member of the billy goats.
In Germany, FC is in fourth place behind FC Bayern (410,000), Borussia Dortmund (230,000) and FC Schalke 04 (200,000). Most recently, FC was almost on a par with Eintracht Frankfurt. The SGE had around 155,000 members in the summer of 2025.
In November 2011, fans, club representatives, coaches and players waited in vain in the Rheinenergiestadion for the game between 1. FC Köln and 1. FSV Mainz 05 to kick off. The reason: the appointed FIFA referee Babak Rafati had tried to commit suicide in a Cologne hotel. The then 40-year-old Hanoverian was scheduled to referee the Bundesliga match, but did not appear at the stadium.
The game was ultimately canceled. A few days later, Rafati went public and revealed severe depression as the cause of his suicide attempt. Today Rafati also works as an author, speaker and mental trainer. In lectures he talks about burnout, bullying, depression and pressure to perform – and is committed to bringing mental illnesses out of the taboo zone in competitive sports.
1. FC Köln can again rely on Rav van den Berg and Eric Martel in the home game against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. The duo was recently suspended and served their red and yellow penalties respectively. This means that two urgently needed defensive players are returning to the squad.
However, coach Lukas Kwasniok left it open on Friday whether the duo would be back in the starting line-up straight away. “If players are out, others get their chance. And the others did well,” said the FC coach. However, the use of Tom Krauß is still open. The six complains of hip problems.
