Fortuna Düsseldorf dictated the start of the Bundesliga for amputee footballers. The defending champion clinched four wins in four games in St. Leon-Rot and underlined his renewed ambitions. “That was a perfect start for us, we’re very happy about the maximum number of points,” said coach Dirk Hilgers.
Newcomer FSV Mainz 05, which is the first Bundesliga club to start on crutches in the upper house of the football variant, experienced a sobering start and only scored one point.
The former Mainz professional Fabrizio Hayer was there as a co-commentator for the live stream and was enthusiastic about tricks such as overhead kicks or diving headers from the one-legged footballers on crutches. “I am very happy that amputee football is becoming more and more popular. We at Mainz 05 want to make a contribution to this and continue to build up our own team,” said Hayer.
The German Amputee Football League (DAFL) is organized by the association “Anpfiff ins Leben”. The upcoming rounds will take place in Hamburg (June 10th/11th) and Wetzlar (July 8th/9th) with eight matches.
In the amputee Bundesliga, two teams of five compete against each other for two times 20 minutes on a 40×20 m playing field. Outfield players must have a leg amputation or shortening. The goalkeeper position may only be occupied with an arm amputation or arm shortening.