The municipality of Freiburg im Breisgau currently plans a solidarity gesture coordinated with sister Ukrainian city Lviv ahead of this weekend’s home Bundesliga fixture against FC Heidenheim. Ukrainian musicians broadcasting live from a Lviv studio will be broadcast over the video screens in the Europa Park Stadion. Together with the in-stadium-crowd, a joint rendition of the footballing anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” will be performed.
The third anniversary of the outbreak of the Russian-Ukraine conflict approaches. Shortly after Russian Premier Vladimir Putin initially ordered a targeted invasion on February 24th, 2022 virtually all midfield circles Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga stadiums were re-fashioned into peace symbols in protest. Pre-kick off observances of the unwanted conflict on Germany’s doorstep called for moments of silence and support for Ukraine.
The manner in which German football responded to the invasion nevertheless extends far beyond “shallow symbolism”. Countless civically and politically engaged ultra groups have coordinated food and clothing drives outside Bundesliga venues. Club supporters themselves have driven Eastward to the borders to deliver food, supplies, and medical assistance. As is nearly always the case in Germany, football and community go hand-in-hand.
To take just one example, Borussia Mönchengladbach ultras have been continuously working on such initiatives over the last three years. Gladbach itself organized a benefit match in the spring of 2022 with 100 percent of proceeds going to relief efforts. SCF ultras have also kept up their volunteerism, particularly in light of the fact that their sister city of Lviv happens to be the largest in Western Ukraine and very close to the border.
This specific action at the Europa Park Stadion owes much to the two chief coordinators of the project, German musician Rüdiger Linhof and SC Freiburg women’s professional Carmen Höfflin. Linhof is the bassist for famous German band “Sportfreunde Stiller”; themselves the curators of the legendary German footballing anthem “’54, ’74, ’90, 2006”.
Höfflin – as quoted by Kicker journalist Daniela Frahm – explained that the famous English footballing anthem was chosen above the German one for its universalist appeal. Sportfreunde Stiller’s “One Voice” initiative plans many such live broadcasts in other Bundesrepublik sporting venues as the third-year-anniversary of the conflict draws nearer.
Frahm – drawing from the SC Freiburg match program “Heimspiel” – quotes Linhof, Höfflin and SCF trainer Julian Schuster in her article. Höfflin spoke on behalf of both herself and other Freiburg supporters who had accompanied an aid convoy to Lviv.
“A major football club is giving these [Ukranian][ artists a stage, very prominently just before the kick-off of a Bundesliga game,” Höfflin said. “This appreciation and solidarity is extremely important for the local people. I am very pleased that the sports club has been combining its appeal with great social commitment for years.“
“A stadium where many football fans come together with have their hearts in the right place, is where we need to take our action,” Linhof added. “That’s precisely our wheelhouse.”
“We are the generation that, fortunately, has not yet had to experience a major war,” Schuster is quoted as saying, “It is our job to appreciate the kind of society we can and may live in, and at the same time to express our sympathy.”
“It’s a great signal from the city, the association and the people here to the sister city [of Lviv],” Schuster also noted “It shows that our thoughts are with them and with the whole country [of Ukraine].“
GGFN | Peter Weis
