Aller guten Dinge sind drei

If the 19th FIEGE Soccer Cup were to be given a headline, then with some certainty it would read ‘Mission Defending Champions’. After last year’s winners of the all-female teams, SkyBlues, won against Bibliser Mädels in a heart-stopping late afternoon final with a score of 1:0, ascending once again to the Mount Olympus of football, the all-male Kickers Biblis team took the crown for the third time in a row against Team Headquarter 1, three-peating for the first time in the history of the FIEGE Soccer Cup. 

The subsequent tribute to the winning teams where the Co-CEOs Felix Fiege and Jens Fiege presented the coveted cups and medals thus became something of a familiar picture. The atmosphere that reigned supreme on and in front of the podium, however, was yet again one of a kind. That was also due to the fact that the Executive Board colleague, Martin Rademaker, came with a special message: just like the Coupe Jules Rimet – the former trophy of the Football World Cup which the Brazilian football association was allowed to keep after winning its third title in 1970 – the (former) challenge cup of the men’s tournament of the FIEGE Soccer Cup will now find its permanent home in Biblis, southern Hesse.

The conditions for a major football tournament with the potential to be named in the same breath with this year’s European Women’s Championships could hardly have been better. The brand-new sportive facility of TSV Handorf based in Münster’s east offered everything that the hearts of an international crowd of 3,000 desired – both from a sportive as well as culinary perspective. “The first big thank you goes to our organisational team and the many voluntary helpers in the background. You may not always be visible at first sight, but without you, such an extraordinary event wouldn’t be feasible”, said Felix Fiege, Co-CEO of the Fiege Group who has been running the fifth-generation family business in unison with his cousin, Jens Fiege to the resounding applause of colleagues. “We are speechless about what you managed to pull off here. And we are very pleased to be celebrating with so many of you from the FIEGE Family!” 

Jens Fiege added: “We wish to thank all colleagues, some of whom travelled thousands of kilometres by bus to be here today. We realise this is anything but a given, which makes us even prouder and happier of our very special team spirit is best experienced on a special day like this during the Soccer Cup. Therefore, our thanks go of course also to the city of Münster as well as the TSV and TC Handorf, for allowing us to be here today and celebrate a major football tournament!”

During the closing party at the festive tent, it was obvious once again that football is an excellent way to bring people together from different countries, as well as to hold a competitive yet fair competition – which the more than 20 referees and their outstanding on-pitch performance also made sure of. But most and for all, it was impressive to see that the FIEGE Soccer Cup is about so much more than football alone. It is about bonding, a shared team spirit, intercultural encounters and a memorable day spent with colleagues. Therefore: Mission accomplished!