With no national German Football league till the 60’s it has meant that many States, regions and cities have a great number of clubs and grounds.
The German league system is a true pyramid and does mean that the lowest park team can eventually end up as champions of Germany just on football terms with every league having promotion and relegation – of course as you go further up the pyramid there are some set standards for facilities and financial capabilities.
In Hamburg there are 25 divisions consisting of 418 teams with 5 further teams from the city playing in leagues above that including Hamburg SV and St Pauli.
I landed at 10.10am and 40 minutes later I was at my first game. I would see 3 games over the 3 days but also would visit 18 other grounds – more than I had planned for or expected.
Some grounds have a shale surface others astro but that means many games can be played on the same day, great for the younger teams that many clubs run – compare that to say, Essex – muddy, waterlogged pitches ,meaning that not even the first team can play a game for many weeks. We need more G4 pitches here in the UK, now back to my Hamburg football odyssey
The next few posts will cover those three days.
DAY 1
Ground 1
Game at USC Paloma here
Ground 2
Borgweg Stadium – VFL Hamburg
Great ground near the City Park
Ground 3
Game at HSV Barnbek-Uhlenhorst here
Ground 4
Stadium Zum Schutzenhof – SC Urania
My first shale pitch
Ground 5
Sportplatz Berner Heerweg – SC Condor Hamburg 1956
Athletics track plus adjoining pitches
Ground 6
Hammer Park – Hamm Utd
More athletics but also a great stand
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