Stefan Bösl/imago images
Finally the ball is rolling: Ingolstadt receives its fan project
When the German Football Association (DFB) finally gave in at the beginning of September, a load was taken off the hearts of many a fan. The DFB’s share of the league-independent financing of fan projects will not change until the end of 2022. One can be particularly happy about that in Ingolstadt, where the association’s plans almost prevented the establishment of professional fan social work. But one after anonther.
Was it clear to the people of Bremen, who founded the first fan project in 1981, that their model would soon catch on? There was a need: when young people came to soccer in the 80s and 90s, they were mostly only “looked after” by the local hooligans. The idea was simple and good: to organize social work for young people and the young at heart around the football club. Projects emerged at more and more locations, mostly sponsored by charitable organizations. They offered rooms in which trained social workers stood by the young people with advice and action. At the beginning of 2021 there were 63 fan projects across Germany. From the curve of the industry leader FC Bayern Munich to the meanwhile fifth division club KSV Hessen Kassel, fans are well looked after by professional facilities. The financing agreements stipulate that their continued existence is not linked to the league affiliation of the respective clubs. The public sector, i.e. city or country, and the associations, the DFB and the German Football League (DFL), each contribute 50 percent of the money and thus ensure continuous work. The prerequisite, of course, is that a fan project is designed and the funding approved. This means that the fan scene of the previously “projectless” second division club FC Ingolstadt 04 has been very busy over the past three years.
Although the south curve of Ingolstadt is only one of the smaller fish in the ultra scene nationwide, fan representatives tried again and again to get the ball rolling. In 2018 there was an application for which delegates from the curve, together with politicians and the municipal youth welfare office, created a concept. In November 2019, a draft resolution was submitted to which the fan scene, the club, the city and the police agreed. At the beginning of 2020, fellow campaigners were found in the Stadtjugendring, which from then on appeared as the sponsor of the fan project. During the beginning of the corona pandemic, the final concept paper was completed, the last hurdle should only be a formal one: the funding application to the DFB. But suddenly he had the proverbial hedgehog in his pocket. There should be no money and the establishment of new fan projects should be suspended until 2022 – an ongoing reform process prevents the project from being approved. In September 2020, the DFB also decided to reduce the total amount of funding for fan projects by 400,000 euros, which would result in severe cuts. A slap in the face for everyone involved.
But the fan scene went on the offensive, publicly drew attention to the grievances, and media reports increased. In the WDR-The head of the youth association, Alexander Utz, summed up the program “Sport inside” in an interview: “We had actually got everything wrapped up, and now the rejection came. We don’t know why, you have to ask the DFB. «But the public pressure led to a relenting. The funds were not cut, the newly planned locations in Ingolstadt and Würzburg are now being supported. The fact that FC Ingolstadt was able to prevail against VfL Osnabrück in the relegation games to the second Bundesliga made things even easier. With the rise, the DFL became responsible for the financing, which could only be fine with the DFB. The project was still on hold again.
Until November 1st: Then the green light was finally given and the facility can go live. Now a suitable property has to be found in downtown Ingolstadt so that the fan project can become a central and easily accessible point of contact. Big plans were already forged when the project was presented: From anti-aggression training to graffiti workshops, the new social workers can imagine many program items. They definitely want to install a youth club that can also be designed by the fan scene. Even the police got into conversation: One would like to bring the young people closer to the everyday work of the law enforcement officers. However, it is still unclear whether the offer will be accepted.
