Ground hopping

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Bernabeu , Real Madrid stadium

Groundhopping is a collecting passion of soccer fans ( groundhoppers ), where the aim is to attend matches in as many different stadiums as possible . The scene is largely disorganized and there are hardly any uniform rules. The term is now also used by fans of other sports.

term

The word Groundhopping is made up of the English noun ground and the verb to hop . Ground refers, among other things, to the playing field of a stadium or hall . To hop means to hop or jump. Ground hopping means jumping quickly from stadium to stadium.

history

Wembley Stadium in London
Camp Nou , FC Barcelona stadium

The British Geoff Rose had the first idea of ​​organizing ground hopping in 1974. In the football magazine Football League Review , he suggested producing a special tie for fans who had visited all 92 stadiums of the four English professional leagues . The 92 Club was then founded four years later, on September 2, 1978. There are strict rules for club members: all stadiums visited must be documented with the date, result, teams involved and number of spectators. However, there is no precise review. In addition, the 38 club exists for all stadiums in the Scottish professional leagues. Many hoppers who have visited all stages of professional football turn to non-league football below the fourth division. While many Groundhoppers visit countries and stadiums around the world, the British never or rarely leave the UK and Ireland : the crucial difference to continental groundhopping.

Outside of England, the movement has developed primarily in Germany since the 1990s. For many fans, the 1990 World Cup in Italy was the reason to attend games abroad for the first time. In addition to the 92 Club and 38 Club, there is only one organization for ground hoppers in Germany: the V. d. GD ( Association of Groundhopper Germany ) was founded in 1993. The idea was born a year earlier by nine German fans in Italy at the Derby della Capitale between Lazio and AS Roma . Anyone wishing to become a member had to have visited 100 stadiums in ten countries ( country points ) in the first few years and be at least 16 years old. In 2003 the rules were tightened: you now have to show 300 stadiums in 30 countries. According to its own information, the association has 75 members. Only people who are proposed by other members and who do not receive more than 20 percent dissenting votes in a vote among the members can be accepted.

However, the scene is much larger and confusing, as many hoppers work on their own. There is now a relevant scene in Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

regulate

Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro

Goal of the V. d. From the beginning, GD was a standardization of the counting method, which still does not exist. Above all, there is no consensus as to when a ground is considered made . The English counting method stipulates 90 minutes of attendance and only allows friendly matches for national teams. There is no consensus on the continent about the length of a stadium visit or the type of game, for example professional or amateur game. Many accept a game and a stadium after half-time, others a quarter of an hour is enough. The only basic requirement is that a game takes place and that it is not just a visit to the stadium. You receive a country point when you have seen your first game, depending on how you count, in a country or on the territory of a FIFA member association .

Publications

The main publication of the groundhopping scene is the Groundhopping Informer , which appears once a year. The book is a kind of address book for world football that lists almost all stadiums in the world with address, telephone number and capacity. In Germany, the directory goes down to the national leagues . The appendix lists hundreds of other stadiums that cannot be assigned to any league.

The Europlan is published quarterly with a lot of information on the topic: carpooling, travel tips or game plans. In Great Britain, the Football Traveler is published weekly with a circulation of 800.

classification

Stadium of FK Red Star Belgrade

For many fans, ground hopping is much more than just a hobby. Quite a few subordinate their whole life to him. Some take out loans to finance the extensive tours. Groundhoppers often drive hundreds or even thousands of kilometers by car or train to see several games in one day.

A thirst for adventure and criticism of the increasing commercialization of football also play a role. People appreciate the atmosphere in the stadiums in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, which are still largely undiscovered by normal fans. Others visit stadiums in Africa, South or Central America and plan trips that are reminiscent of extreme tourism and are difficult to reconcile with a bourgeois existence.

ice Hockey

Many ice hockey fans have now also developed into ground hoppers. The criteria for counting are just as unclear as in football. In general, an ice rink is considered to have been visited if you have seen at least two thirds or thirty one minutes (pure playing time) of an ice hockey game in it. There is no association like in football, shared trips are planned in independent Internet forums.

Documentation

  • Carlo Farsang, Jörg Heinisch: Futbol fanatico . 174 minutes. 2007.

literature

  • Ingo Braun: From Haifa to Havana. With Frankfurt ground hoppers around the globe . Trolsen Communicate, Quickborn 2010, ISBN 978-3-9812649-7-5 .
  • Martin Czikowski: A journey to where the east is west again . NOFB Shop, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-000381-52-2 .
  • Martin Czikowski, Markus Stapke, Ronny Schulz, Mirko Otto: "Kick-off in Baku" - reports from football travelers . Burkhardt & Partner Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-940159-04-5 .
  • Jörg Heinisch: The adventure of ground hopping. When football fans gather stadiums . Agon, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-89784-172-X .
  • Jörg Heinisch: The ground hopping adventure continues. Volume 2 on football fans collecting stadiums. Agon, Kassel 2004, ISBN 3-89784-239-4 .
  • Jörg Heinisch: Adventure ground hopping knows no boundaries. Volume 3 on football fans collecting stadiums. Agon, Kassel 2008, ISBN 978-3-89784-347-9 .
  • Frank Jasperneite, Oliver Leisner: Groundhopping Informer 2011/2012. Agon, Kassel 2011. - Worldwide stadium directory, has been published annually since 1999.
  • Jörg Pochert: AYIA NAPA! . NOFB Shop, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-000428-83-8 .
  • Florian Sauer: 92 - A journey through the motherland of football. pretty good books, Waldkirch 2017, ISBN 978-3-945942-03-1
  • Benjamin Schaller: Where are you going to the stadium? 33 ground hopping stories. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3862656790 .
  • Gayson Stanley: Der Fussballtourist Independently published, Hamburg 2018, ISBN 978-1720238416 .
  • Heiko Lückemann: Football addiction: when old men ground-hop . The workshop, 2020, ISBN 978-3730705063 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Official website 92 Club
  2. ↑ Jörg Heinisch: The ground hopping adventure continues. Volume 2 on football fans collecting stadiums . Agon, Kassel 2004, p. 13
  3. ↑ Jörg Heinisch: The ground hopping adventure continues. Volume 2 on football fans collecting stadiums . Agon, Kassel 2004, p. 14
  4. ↑ Jörg Heinisch: The ground hopping adventure continues. Volume 2 on football fans collecting stadiums . Agon, Kassel 2004, p. 15
  5. ↑ Official website of the V. d. GD
  6. ↑ Jörg Heinisch: The ground hopping adventure continues. Volume 2 on football fans collecting stadiums . Agon, Kassel 2004, pp. 16-17
  7. ↑ Groundhopper - the somewhat different football fans  ( 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. , Article about Frank Jasperneite, editor of Groundhopping Informer (accessed June 18, 2012)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / board.fanszene-bremen.net  
  8. ↑ Jörg Heinisch: The ground hopping adventure continues. Volume 2 on football fans collecting stadiums . Agon, Kassel 2004, p. 16
  9. ↑ Jörg Heinisch: The ground hopping adventure continues. Volume 2 on football fans collecting stadiums. Agon, Kassel 2004, p. 22
  10. ↑ Groundhopper - the somewhat different football fans  ( 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. , Article about Frank Jasperneite, editor of Groundhopping Informer (accessed June 18, 2012)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / board.fanszene-bremen.net  
  11. ↑ Travel reports, In: Jörg Heinisch: The ground hopping adventure continues. Volume 2 on football fans collecting stadiums . Agon, Kassel 2004 / Jörg Heinisch: Adventure ground hopping knows no boundaries. Volume 3 on football fans collecting stadiums . Agon, Kassel 2008