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FRANKFURT

How American football is taking over Frankfurt

Frankfurt is hosting two NFL games this year. With the second about to take place on Sunday, we talk about how excitement is building.

Published: 10 November 2023 17:06 CET
Updated: 12 November 2023 09:42 CET
Oliver and his two sons Jan and Noah with an oversized Kansas City Chiefs helmet on the fan mile in Frankfurt on November 5th.
Oliver and his two sons Jan and Noah with an oversized Kansas City Chiefs helmet on the fan mile in Frankfurt on November 5th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Andreas Arnold

The Hessian city of Frankfurt is known for its impressive skyline, Grüne Soße (Green Sauce) and Apfelwein.

But right now it’s also a place where thousands of people are flocking to for American football. 

That’s because the National Football League (NFL) is back in Germany – and two games are being played in Frankfurt.

Last Sunday the Kansas City Chiefs won 21-14 against the Miami Dolphins in front of a sold-out Deutsche Bank Park. 

And this Sunday, on November 12th, the six-time Super Bowl champions, New England Patriots, take on the Indianapolis Colts.

READ ALSO: ‘A megacity on a smaller scale’: An insiders’ guide to Frankfurt

It comes after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the Seattle Seahawks at Munich’s Allianz Arena in November 2022 as the NFL outlined Germany as a major growth market. 

The reception to the games has been huge. 

The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt.

The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Arne Dedert

More than three million people tried to snag tickets to the Frankfurt matches that each offer about 50,000 seats.

Dr Alexander Steinforth, general manager of the NFL in Germany, told The Local that there was “a lot of excitement from those guests that travelled over from the States”.

“But even more so – or at least to the same degree – there’s a lot of excitement from the fans in Frankfurt and the German public overall.”

He added: “Everyone has been looking forward to those two games this year in Frankfurt. The Patriots are one of the most popular teams over here in Germany. Everyone is really looking forward to Sunday.” 

Those who didn’t get a ticket can still soak up the atmosphere in Frankfurt. 

The NFL is hosting the “NFL Experience Frankfurt” in the city centre until Saturday (November 11th), including a mini football field for people to play on.

Pats fans can also visit the “Patriot Haus” (Hilton Frankfurt City Center, Hochstraße 4). The six Super Bowl trophies are on display there, and former Patriots players, including Sebastian Vollmer, are greeting guests.

READ ALSO: Where do the majority of foreigners live in Frankfurt?

A spokesman for the Indianapolis Colts told The Local they were looking forward to bringing the game “to new fans across the world”.

“The people of Frankfurt have been so helpful and welcoming, and we look forward to sharing our great sport with them on Sunday and engaging with our fans all weekend,” he said. 

‘Opportunity for business’

Chris Gahl, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Visit Indy, arrived this week from Indianapolis to see his beloved Colts play on German soil. 

But Gahl told The Local that the event also strengthens ties with German tourists and businesses. 

“From a tourism perspective, Germany is a top three international market for Indy, tied to the city hosting trade shows, major sporting events like the Indy 500, and corporations like Eli Lilly, Salesforce, Elanco, Rolls Royce, and Cummins drawing-in business travellers,” he said. 

“Our research shows our NFL and NBA teams also help attract visitors. We’ve partnered with the Colts in other markets, like London, to activate while the Colts are playing to draw awareness to Indy as a tourism destination.”

Gahl added that the game in Frankfurt “gives us an opportunity to connect with German-based meeting decision makers”.

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SPORTS

Bayer Leverkusen win first Bundesliga title, ending Bayern Munich’s 11-year run

German football team Bayer Leverkusen lifted the Bundesliga title for the first time in their 120-year history with a 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen, breaking Bayern Munich's 11-year stranglehold on the top league.

Published: 15 April 2024 09:02 CEST
Bayer Leverkusen win first Bundesliga title, ending Bayern Munich's 11-year run

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen knew a victory on Sunday would secure the title with five games to spare, and there were no signs of nerves in a dominant performance.

A hat-trick from Florian Wirtz and goals from Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka extended their unbeaten run to a stunning 43 games in all competitions.

Leverkusen’s maiden title, coming after five second-place finishes in their history, keeps their dream of a remarkable treble alive while shedding their unwanted ‘Neverkusen’ nickname for good.

With 10 minutes to go, the long-suffering fans began making their way to the sidelines and a few jumped the gun, storming the pitch with the match still ongoing.

Leverkusen’s players ushered the fans back and some obliged, albeit briefly, with the stands swiftly emptying on the 90-minute mark as tearful supporters made their way onto the turf to celebrate with the players.

Leverkusen are now on 79 points – the best tally after 29 games in German league history – and are 16 clear of second-placed Bayern Munich and third-placed Stuttgart.

“It’s impossible to describe. Personally I can’t quite grasp what we did. I needed to go back to the changing room to clear my head,” Wirtz told DAZN after the match.

“We’ve already started the party with the supporters.”

Wirtz, who moved from neighbouring Cologne at the age of 16 and grew up just 20 minutes away in Pulheim, told DAZN he “could not imagine what we would achieve at the start of the season”.

“It was when we started winning some matches, with a dominant style of play, that’s when I realised we could do a little better than just making the Champions League.”

‘Sea of red and black’

The Leverkusen bus arrived at the stadium 90 minutes before kick-off, wading through a sea of fans clad in black and red on the way to the 30,000-capacity BayArena.

Normally known as Bismarck Street, fans had stuck temporary signs saying ‘Xabi Alonso Street’ along the main road in honour of the club’s coach.

Alonso looked ahead to Thursday’s Europa League trip to London to face West Ham, making seven changes to his starting XI and benching stars Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo, the latter for the first time in the league this season.

Piero Hincapie, Grimaldo’s replacement, had an early effort at goal saved but it would be the fit-again Boniface, making his first start since mid-December, who put the home side in front.

With 22 minutes gone, Jonas Hofmann was felled in the box by Bremen’s Julian Malatini, with the referee pointing to the spot after VAR urged him to view the contact again on the monitor.

Boniface stepped up and nervelessly slotted the penalty past a helpless Michael Zetterer to send the home fans into raptures.

Hofmann was almost the provider again shortly before half-time, his pass finding Amine Adli who fired against the crossbar.

Bremen started the second-half strongly but their hopes of spoiling the party were snuffed out on the 60-minute mark, Boniface finding Xhaka who unleashed a long-range rocket before slapping his badge in front of the ecstatic home fans.

Wirtz, who came on at half-time for Adli, replicated Xhaka’s effort eight minutes later from almost the same spot on the pitch.

Wirtz added another with seven minutes remaining before sealing his hat-trick in the 90th minute as Leverkusen rid themselves of their nearly men tag in style.

Earlier on Sunday, a 36th-minute goal from Ritsu Doan took Freiburg to a 1-0 win at Darmstadt, pushing the last-placed hosts closer to immediate relegation.

Winless since October and with only two victories all year, the loss leaves Darmstadt dead last, eight points from second-last and 13 points from safety with five games remaining.

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