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Eschweg Football Festival: 200 participants celebrate integration at the tournament!
On June 16, 2025, the Werra-Meißner district celebrated the 9th Palm Strikers integration tournament, meeting and community redefined.
Eschweg Football Festival: 200 participants celebrate integration at the tournament!
On June 16, 2025 it was that time again: the football club Palm Strikers held its ninth integration tournament on the Eschweger Torwiese. Around 200 people took the opportunity to do sport together and celebrate the values of team spirit and community. This time the temperatures were high, but the good mood could not be dampened.
A special highlight were the intercultural teams, which proudly competed with a total of 25 players from twelve different countries. These included participants from Eritrea, Albania, Chile, Ecuador, Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan. The second team of the intercultural football group from Bad Sooden-Allendorf and the Werraland Lebenswelten team showed particularly strong performances and secured the coveted challenge cup. The old cup was broken the previous year, but thanks to a donation from Harry Niebeling, the deputy district football manager, a new cup was able to be provided.
A successful event with great commitment
An important part of the tournament was also the opportunity for participants to take their sports badge. A total of 50 participants completed the tests with flying colors, which the sports badge representative Gerd Seidlitz praised. He highlighted the excellent collaboration between young and experienced examiners who made the whole thing possible. This shows how important volunteer work is for such events, which is also emphasized by other organizations such as the Stadtsportbund Bochum e.V., which seeks around 200 volunteers for similar activities every year.
Olaf Ronge, the club chairman, also ensured the physical well-being of the guests during the event. Whether grilled food, soft ice cream or waffles – no wish remained unfulfilled. There was also a bouncy castle for the little visitors. During the lunch break, the hip-hop kids from TV Schwebda performed and thrilled the audience. A raffle with 550 prizes donated by Eschweg companies rounded off the program.
Integration through sport: A long-term goal
The idea of integration through sport is not new, but it is becoming increasingly important. How on BLSV As explained, it is about bringing people from different cultural backgrounds together and making it easier for them to participate in social life. The networking of clubs, municipal institutions and migrant organizations plays a central role in making this process sustainable.
The Palm Strikers make an important contribution to this integrative work by supporting people with migrant and refugee backgrounds and creating an environment in which everyone is welcome. Such events are not just a sporting event, but a step towards a shared future.
Overall, it can be said that the Palm Strikers integration tournament not only offered top sporting performances, but also impressively demonstrated the values of community and integration. It remains to be seen which other projects in the region will build on this positive development.