A large delegation from Eintracht Frankfurt was in New York at the start of the year, advancing the club’s internationalisation strategy. In the premises of main sponsor Indeed, a new office was opened with the mission of “gaining a long-term footing” in the USA, as board member Fredi Bobic put it. The club is planning a first-team friendly match in New York for 2021, 70 years after the ‘Goodwill Tour’ which played a significant role in financing the restoration of the Eagles’ old Riederwald stadium. Nearly three months later, the megacity on the East Coast is the epicentre of the corona pandemic in America.
In the thick of it is Roemmelt, Eintracht’s representative for North America. The Frankfurt native works for the Bertelsmann Education Group, whose office is on Broadway. For Eintracht he establishes contacts overseas, acts as a mediator and is also active on the fan scene as one of the founders of EFC New York.
As an Eintracht supporter and representative, you’re in daily contact with Eagles fans. How has communication changed during the corona crisis?
“We still had a watch party for the game against Basel, but it was much smaller than usual. I’ve heard now that a virtual watch party of the 2018 DFB Cup final is planned. Generally the communication is still very active, obviously now over social media. The community here is alive, discussing and talking shop. The podcast ‘Hey Eintracht Frankfurt’, which is run from here in English, is obviously still a popular listen. On Twitter, people discuss which historical topics should be covered. We’ve also joined the fundraising campaign ‘New York kicks coronavirus’ with EFC New York.”
How did that come about?
“Tom Fraehmke, my co-founder of the fan club, initiated the contact. Thirty-four fan clubs of football clubs mostly from Europe [including Juventus, Liverpool, AC Milan, Roma, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich] got together with the aim of raising as much money as possible for New York health establishments, who urgently need financial help. It’s a great and important thing which we’re happy to support and all of us are sharing in our community. We want to make a big social media campaign out of it.”
Eintracht is planning the comeback of the ‘Goodwill Tour’ next year. How’s the planning going currently?
“An Eintracht delegation was hoping to come here in early May and we were going to discuss various things together. That’s obviously cancelled now, but preparations are going ahead using teleconferences and digital communication.”'
Sport – and particularly football – is still very present in the media in Germany despite the crisis. What’s the deal with football in the US and what are the plans for when Major League Soccer should start again?
“You can see from the media coverage that football in the USA tends to stay in the sports section, but it has a greater significance in Germany where it also makes the front pages. MLS is suspended until 10 May for the moment. As with Germany, it might be pushed back further depending on the situation. The most money, particularly in the four major sports, is made in the play-offs, so I imagine that if it’s not possible to catch up on the games in an already tight fixture calendar, the regular season will be shortened and we’ll start the play-offs earlier. As things stand that’s just speculation, though.”
How large is the appetite for German football?
“Very large. I’m looking forward to when the situation gets back to normal soon and we can meet at watch parties again. Until then we’ll do everything to help with the corona crisis, for example through the aforementioned ‘New York kicks coronavirus’ initiative. The health of everyone, particularly the many workers and people in high-risk groups, is the top priority right now.”
In the thick of it is Roemmelt, Eintracht’s representative for North America. The Frankfurt native works for the Bertelsmann Education Group, whose office is on Broadway. For Eintracht he establishes contacts overseas, acts as a mediator and is also active on the fan scene as one of the founders of EFC New York.
As an Eintracht supporter and representative, you’re in daily contact with Eagles fans. How has communication changed during the corona crisis?
“We still had a watch party for the game against Basel, but it was much smaller than usual. I’ve heard now that a virtual watch party of the 2018 DFB Cup final is planned. Generally the communication is still very active, obviously now over social media. The community here is alive, discussing and talking shop. The podcast ‘Hey Eintracht Frankfurt’, which is run from here in English, is obviously still a popular listen. On Twitter, people discuss which historical topics should be covered. We’ve also joined the fundraising campaign ‘New York kicks coronavirus’ with EFC New York.”
How did that come about?
“Tom Fraehmke, my co-founder of the fan club, initiated the contact. Thirty-four fan clubs of football clubs mostly from Europe [including Juventus, Liverpool, AC Milan, Roma, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich] got together with the aim of raising as much money as possible for New York health establishments, who urgently need financial help. It’s a great and important thing which we’re happy to support and all of us are sharing in our community. We want to make a big social media campaign out of it.”
Eintracht is planning the comeback of the ‘Goodwill Tour’ next year. How’s the planning going currently?
“An Eintracht delegation was hoping to come here in early May and we were going to discuss various things together. That’s obviously cancelled now, but preparations are going ahead using teleconferences and digital communication.”'
Sport – and particularly football – is still very present in the media in Germany despite the crisis. What’s the deal with football in the US and what are the plans for when Major League Soccer should start again?
“You can see from the media coverage that football in the USA tends to stay in the sports section, but it has a greater significance in Germany where it also makes the front pages. MLS is suspended until 10 May for the moment. As with Germany, it might be pushed back further depending on the situation. The most money, particularly in the four major sports, is made in the play-offs, so I imagine that if it’s not possible to catch up on the games in an already tight fixture calendar, the regular season will be shortened and we’ll start the play-offs earlier. As things stand that’s just speculation, though.”
How large is the appetite for German football?
“Very large. I’m looking forward to when the situation gets back to normal soon and we can meet at watch parties again. Until then we’ll do everything to help with the corona crisis, for example through the aforementioned ‘New York kicks coronavirus’ initiative. The health of everyone, particularly the many workers and people in high-risk groups, is the top priority right now.”
