DFB Pokal fixtures: The comprehensive "fan plans" across Germany
It's Pokal time in Germany! In a comprehensive report on fan access to all 31 fixtures, we'll check in with the state of the quest to bring fans back to Bundesliga stadiums.
The German Bundesrepublik gears up for a four-day "festival of football" with the opening round of the the DFB-Pokal this week. Thirty-one fixtures are scheduled to take place across the country. Of these, only nine shall be executed as so-called "Geisterpiele" (spectator free "ghost games".)
In accordance with the laws of a federalist constitutional republic, local regions are given leeway to come up with their own public health and safety measures. It is such that individual clubs have come up with wide-ranging plans for the return to competitive action in their stadiums. The Number of fans allowed into various venues range from zero to 10,000.
East German clubs 1. FC Mageburg and Chemnitzer FC aim for audacious concepts by allowing in a capped 4,632 and 5,000 supporters through their respective turnstiles. Eastern counterparts Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden even higher still. Rostock has developed a concept enabling up to 8,000 fans to enter. Through the use of an innovative "infection collectives" model, Dresden hopes to welcome 10,000. DFL boss Christian Sefeirt has offered public support for clubs experimenting with ways of safely bringing their fans back.
The various hygiene concepts and ticket allocation strategies vary from club to club. The general strategy, however, appears to be a raffling process among season ticket holders. Organizations also make a deliberate effort to reserve some seats for those disproportionately affected by the global COVID-19 Pandemic. Schalke 04 and MSV Duisburg, for example, are distributing some tickets to front-line health care workers and residents of local retirement homes. FC Köln are among the clubs setting aside some passes for the physically disabled and their companions.
As compiled by pre-eminent German footballing publication Kicker, here's the complete rundown of where, when, and how many fans will be permitted in all 31 matches:
Friday, September 11th
TSV Havelse (at) 1. FSV Mainz 05 (maximum 1,000 spectators)
Hertha BSC (at) Eintracht Braunschweig (maximum 500 spectators)
Saturday, September 12th
FV Engers (at) VfL Bochum (Geisterspiel)
Union Fürstenwalde (at) VfL Wolfsburg (Geisterspiel)
FC Oberneuland (at) B. Mönchengladbach (maximum 300 spectators)
RSV Meinerzhagen (at) SpVgg Greuther Fürth (Geisterspiel)
VSG Altglienicke (at) 1. FC Köln (maximum 300 spectators)
RB Leipzig (at) 1. FC Nürnberg (Geisterspiel)
VfL Osnabrück (at) SV Todesfelde (maximum 500 spectators)
Eintracht Frankfurt (at) TSV 1860 München (Geisterspiel)
Eintracht Celle (at) FC Augsburg (Geisterspiel)
Erzgebirge Aue (at) SSV Ulm 1946 (maximum 434 spectators)
Fortuna Düsseldorf (at) FC Ingolstadt (Geisterspiel)
FC Union Berlin (at) Karlsruher SC (maximum 450 spectators)
SV Werder Bremen (at) FC Carl Zeiss Jena (maximum 1,256 spectators)
Sunday, September 13th
SV Sandhausen (at) TSV Steinbach Haiger (maximum 800 spectators)
SV Elversberg (at) FC St. Pauli (maximum 500 spectators)
Eintracht Norderstedt (at) Bayer 04 Leverkusen (maximum 300 spectators)
1. FC Schweinfurt (at) FC Schalke 04 (maximum 300 spectators)
SC Paderborn 07 (at) SC Wiedenbrück (maximum 120 spectators)
Jahn Regensburg (at) 1. FC Kaiserslautern (Geisterspiel)
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (at) Chemnitzer FC (maximum 4,632 spectators)
1. FC Rielasingen-Arlen (at) Holstein Kiel (maximum 500 spectators)
VfB Stuttgart (at) Hansa Rostock (maximum 7,500 spectators)
SV Waldhof Mannheim (at) SC Freiburg (maximum 500 spectators)
SV Darmstadt 98 (at) 1. FC Magdeburg (maximum 5,000 spectators)
1. FC Heidenheim (at) SV Wehen Wiesbaden (maximum 250 spectators)
Monday, September 14th
Hamburger SV (at) Dynamo Dresden (maximum 10,000 spectators)
Hannover 96 (at) Würzburger Kickers (Geisterspiel)
Arminia Bielefeld (at) Rot-Weiss Essen (maximum 300 spectators)
Borussia Dortmund (at) MSV Duisburg (maximum 300 spectators)