Come Together Cup
.jpg)
The Come-Together-Cup ( CTC ) is a nationwide German charity - football tournament , which is held annually to understanding between homosexual and heterosexual men for recreational athletes. It is traditionally held in Cologne on the meadows of the Rhein-Energie-Stadion and usually takes place on Corpus Christi or Ascension Day.
history
On the initiative of Andreas Stiene and with voluntary support, in particular the employees of Schwips eV (gay initiative for care and social affairs), as well as players from the "Cream Team Cologne", the men's soccer team of the gay and lesbian sports club SC Janus , the first CTC carried out in a thematic cooperation with AIDS-Hilfe NRW, project Herzenslust. The first CTC motto in 1995 & 1996 was accordingly "Playing football to your heart's content". In 1997 the CTC women's soccer tournament was added to the event and the motto was changed to “You can't get more together!”.
The trigger for the CTC was a soccer game in September 1994 between a gay soccer team, the Cream-Team-Cologne and a police-team (police selection Cologne), which the former detective inspector Andreas Stiene had organized in Cologne-Weiden. The core idea is speechlessness and discrimination, to overcome supposed or actual contradictions of social groups and to pursue active minority integration through sport.
The tournament was first held in 1995 on the Jahnwiesen in Cologne, not far from the Müngersdorfer Stadium . Ten teams played in front of about 900 spectators, with free entry. The field of participants consisted of company soccer teams and hobby teams from various areas of society.
Since the beginning of the tournament, the patron of the event has been the former Cologne Police President, District President and Lord Mayor a. D. Jürgen Roters . The event has grown steadily every year since 1995. The integration of women's teams from 1997 and the increasing media interest ensured, among other things, an increase to around 50 teams (30 men's and 20 women's teams).
In total, over 250,000 visitors have come to the 21 CTCs so far; in 2015 over 20,000 visitors attended the event. In Cologne, over EUR 150,000 in benefit revenues have been achieved for various social projects.
The Come-Together-Cup eV has been a licensee and organizer since 2014; before that, the Social Service for Gays and Lesbians was the licensee and organizer.
At the end of 2009, the Come Together Cup was given a permanent place in the German Sport & Olympia Museum (DSOM) . The exhibition sports locker (which shows, among other things, the CTC trophy, a signed celebrity soccer game, posters, photos and the development of the audience) is located in the lap of honor museum area.
Supporting program
Local groups, clubs and initiatives present themselves on the sidelines. A raffle and gastronomic offers provide additional income that benefits social institutions and institutions. Beneficiaries are Aidshilfe Köln eV and the youth center anyway eV Before and after the actual soccer tournament, there are increasingly events and celebrations in the supporting program. For some years now, people have been invited to the sunset party on a beach soccer / beach volleyball area with a beach bar and beer garden, right between the Bundesliga stadium and the Jahnwiesen. A show program on the edge of the field and the traditional afternoon match between celebrity soccer teams are additional items on the program that ensure a lively crowd throughout the day.
Since 2004 “The Come Together HERZ” has been awarded as a prize for volunteers, to everyday heroes for exemplary, integrative behavior in everyday life. The award is presented by the 1st mayor of Cologne Elfi Scho-Antwerpes .
The previous winners were:
- 2015 Benjamin Meßner ("Project HOPE" of the Rheinflanke Cologne; social sports project to help refugees integrate)
- 2014 Maik Schütz for his many years of voluntary work at the sports club AufRuhr Bochum eV and Aidshilfe Bochum
- 2013 Kulturschock, a Cologne theater ensemble for many years of vocal support for diversity
- 2012 Kerstin Schmedemann and Rainer Kreke for their commitment to the Kalk district with their foundation "Kalk Gestalten".
- 2011 youth project "dachloW" Weidenpesch
- 2010 The Borgers family from Bad Kreuznach (including 10 years of Chernobyl aid in Belarus)
- 2009 Ali Kemal Gün (including Round Table for Integration - Cologne)
- 2008 Cologne kicks (integrative youth soccer project)
- 2007 Mbuwa Mews (Jugendhilfe Afrika 2000 eV)
- 2006 Uwe Görke (HIV / AIDS private activist)
- 2005 Gerlinde Jordan (Finkenberg Meeting Center)
- 2004 Martien van Bergen (Ceno - Center for post-professional orientation)
Offshoots and national commitment
The event is organized on a voluntary basis.
In 2005 an offshoot of the CTC was organized in Berlin - here are joint licensees, organizers and beneficiaries of the tournament concept, which is also voluntary, lesbian counseling and gay counseling Berlin. From 2006 to 2008 a Come-Together-Cup was also held in Essen in cooperation with AIDS-Hilfe Essen. A “roll out” or a transfer “of the idea to other cities is planned.
In order to strengthen the fight against homophobia in football on a supraregional level, the voluntary organization team of the CTC works with the EGLSF ( European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation ), the QFF ( Queer Football Fan Club ) and the German Football Association ( DFB ). At a joint workshop in February 2009, a 12-point plan was developed and implementation began.
Web links
- Homepage of the Come Together Cup
- Facebook presence of the Come Together Cup
- / Anniversary issue for the 20th CTC
- / Come-Together-Cup program 2015
- Come-Together-Cup on köln.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Come-Together-HEART 2011. (No longer available online.) Come-Together-Cup, formerly in the original ; Retrieved June 5, 2011 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
