By Paul Gorgas
In the friendly in Stahnsdorf (6-0), Hertha still wore their new jerseys bare-chested – that could change soon!
As the “Kicker” reports, the soccer start-up “trainr.” is considered a promising candidate to succeed the former main sponsor “Autohero” in the Bundesliga relegated team. BZ asked the company from Karlsruhe.
Founder and managing director Marc Apfel on BZ: “I can confirm that there are fundamental discussions with the Hertha managers. These are ongoing and confidential negotiations, we are on the right track. We are aiming for main and shirt sponsorship.”
What is “trainr.”?
The start-up offers state-recognized training and further education for football coaches in addition to the training offered by the associations. The special thing about it is that the lessons take place on an online campus, so the prospective trainers can complete their training from anywhere at any time. At the end there is a certificate of completion.
According to BZ information, there has long been contact between Hertha’s youth department headed by former academy boss Pablo Thiam (49) and former head of game design Matthias Borst and the football start-up. At that time it was still about cooperation in terms of content in the field of training and further education of trainers.
But after the end of “Autohero” and Hertha’s relegation, “trainr.” could now make a big splash. Apple: “For us, Hertha is a top club in terms of awareness and reach. This is very interesting for us as a start-up in the expansion and internationalization phase.”
According to BZ information, Hertha’s managers around managing director Thomas Herrich (59) and marketer “Sportfive” were last looking for a sponsor who would pay at least 2.5 to 3 million euros a year. You could have found it with “trainr.”.
Those involved should be confident that the decisive talks will have been held by the start of the season. Then Hertha will play in Düsseldorf on July 29th or 30th – with the lettering “trainr.” on the shirt chest?