It is now only a matter of hours, rather than days, until the first football is thrown at Deutsche Bank Park. Before the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins get the action under way at 15:30 CET on Sunday, however, there are numerous other events to look forward to as part of this inaugural NFL weekend in Frankfurt. Touchdown Frankfurt, an initiative between the host city of Frankfurt am Main and Eintracht Frankfurt, is hosting an exclusive event featuring high-profile guests at Palais Thurn und Taxis on Friday evening, with approximately 300 people expected to attend.
NFL to receive Transatlantic Partnership Award
The highlight of the opening event of the 2023 NFL Frankfurt Games will be the presentation of the Transatlantic Partnership Award by the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany e.V. to the National Football League (NFL). Commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, will accept the award in person on behalf of the league. The NFL will also be represented at the event by Brett Gosper, the NFL’s Head of Europe, and Dr. Alexander Steinforth, General Manager of NFL Germany, among others. The owners of the two teams facing each other on Sunday, Steven Ross (Miami) and Clark Hunt (Kansas City), are also expected to be in attendance. Frankfurt mayor Mike Josef, who will welcome the guests with a short speech, will lead the city of Frankfurt delegation.
High-ranking US representatives in Germany
In US Consulate General Norman Thatcher Scharpf, one of the USA’s highest-ranking representatives will also attend the event. Eintracht Frankfurt, meanwhile, will be represented by several guests: The supervisory board, whose chairman Philip Holzer will also make a short speech, will be in attendance, as will the executive board and Eintracht CEO Axel Hellmann, who will take part in a round-table discussion with Peter O’Reilly, Executive Vice President Club Business, International & League Events at the NFL.
Football and soccer unite
This highly anticipated event would not be complete without the presence of numerous past and present Eagles stars. As well as former Eintracht players Alexander Meier and Anthony Yeboah, current club captain Sebastian Rode and Eintracht Women players Laura Freigang and Sophia Kleinherne will be among the guests. Markus Kuhn and Sebastian Vollmer, two of the best-known former American football players in Germany, will also be in attendance at Palais Thurn und Taxis.
High-profile guest list
The guest list is completed by several Eintracht partners, chief among them Deutsche Bank and its board member Bernd Leukert, not to mention other famous faces from the city of Frankfurt, the world of politics and the German media landscape. These also include the former Federal Minister of Defence and Federal Minister of Labour, Franz Josef Jung. German NFL broadcaster RTL will be represented by presenter Laura Wontorra as well as Joachim Llambi and NFL presenter Jana Wosnitza, who featured on the second episode of the Touchdown Frankfurt podcast.
