Supporters coming together in Augsburg
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| FIFA.com |
Fans are walking the streets clad in football shirts and waving their flags proudly. Some sing South American music and another beats an African drum, while the rest blare out European football fan songs. There is a carnival atmosphere, and this is a veritable celebration of fans coming together.
It is the type of scene you would expect to see at a FIFA World Cup™, but here it is happening on a smaller scale: at the home games of FC Augsburg. The movement is called Augsburg Calling and it is one of Germany’s many memorable fan projects. “We want to give away fans a warm welcome when they come here and show them our great city,” explains project founder Gerhard Seckler in an interview with FIFA.com. “The aim is to make them feel comfortable so they can enjoy the game.”
He launched the idea some ten years ago, and now, with a handful of helpers to assist him, Seckler organises an itinerary for visiting supporters at every Augsburg home game. There are meet and greet sessions and various kinds of city tours, including specials for kids and barrier-free trips for the disabled.
Depending on the number of participants, there are also fan parties with local bands and a friendly farewell at the end of the weekend, with home supporters taking part in the programme too. The cherry on top of the cake is that - barring the fan party – every activity is free.
Friends for life
At the centre of it all is the social component. "We want to get to know one another,” continues Seckler of the scheme that has assumed a place very close to his heart. “Through football we want to exchange knowledge about our cultures and establish friendships that will last.”
Nicknamed the ‘General’, Seckler came up with the idea in 2006, when his beloved Augsburg were promoted to Germany’s second tier for the first time in 23 years. On the way back from a match, he saw an Augsburg supporter insulting some opposition fans. “I was sick of it,” recalls the 52-year-old music-lover. “I thought to myself: ‘Either you never go to watch Augsburg again or you decide to do something.’”
What started off as a small gesture has now developed into something of an institution, so much so that it has become synonymous with one of Germany’s oldest cities. “It’s like the Puppenkiste!” [a puppet show and one of Augsburg’s most famous symbols] says Seckler with a grin.
Nevertheless, the project has indeed gained remarkable recognition. It is financed by the city, the club and, as of recently, the German Football League (DFL), who granted Augsburg Calling financial support from the official Fund for the Promotion of Innovative Football and Fan Culture (PFiFF). The Augsburg Tourist Board also serves as the project’s event organiser, flying the flags of both teams outside its office on match days.
“Away fans shouldn’t be considered as ‘the opposition’. They’re our guests and it goes without saying that they’re more than welcome,” says Götz Beck, Chief Executive of the Tourist Board, to FIFA.com.
Europe calling
As well as welcoming away fans with open arms, Seckler and his organisation also preach an important message of social inclusion. “Against violence, against racism and against the vilification of marginalised communities. Augsburg Calling is by fans and for ALL fans,” reads the description on its official Facebook page.
With Die Fuggerstädter competing in European competition for the first time in their history in 2015/16, Augsburg Calling found itself welcoming its first fans from abroad this season. Seckler sounded a typically hospitable note from the off: “We obviously want to make foreign supporters feel at home here as well” – but some had misgivings when the club was drawn in a group with Partizan Belgrade.
“Everyone advised me against inviting their supporters to take part, as their fans had a very bad reputation,” admits Seckler. “But that was exactly the incentive that made the whole thing worthwhile.”
The planning was begun in cooperation with the tourist board, and with the help of translators, a programme was created welcoming Partizan fans to Swabia. The effort was a resounding success. Every supporter was made to feel welcome and there was no trouble whatsoever in the city. At the return game in Belgrade, Augsburg fans were greeted with similar warmth, making their trip to the Serbian capital (and the eventual 3-1 victory) that much more memorable.
No praise necessary
The Partizan episode was not the first time that FCA supporters were rewarded for their kind-heartedness with a so-called ‘recall’, and neither has it just been opposing clubs that have expressed their approval. Endorsement for the project has come from all sides, not least from the Bundesliga club itself.
“Augsburg Calling is a special project, where home and away fans can enjoy themselves peacefully against the backdrop of a match,” FCA Chief Executive Peter Bircks tells FIFA.com. “To make such a mark in this way is unique and something we’re very proud of.” These are kind words indeed, even if Seckler himself feels they are somewhat unnecessary. “At the end of the day, we’re just being welcoming to guests. That’s how we should be in society.”
Seckler was a keen footballer himself and, like Augsburg’s legendary Germany international Helmut Haller, wore the No8 on his back. Yet while he still follows his club through thick and thin, the need to extend a hand of welcome to visiting supporters overrides the importance of how Augsburg fare out on the pitch.
“If away fans say to us the next day: 'The game was no good because we lost, but Augsburg was fantastic!' then it’s been a successful weekend.” In that sense, it is perhaps little wonder that the project has taken off so successfully in the ‘City of Peace’.
As the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™ took place in Germany, Seckler already had some ideas in his head about the fan experience he wanted to create. Back then, though, there were just that: thoughts. He has since turned them into a reality, and he has done so with such success that these days every Augsburg home game really is like being at a World Cup.