Andreas Stolle, Chairman of the Glücksliga, was equally enthusiastic about the weekend in Cologne. “During the many conversations we had with Gorenje and the EHF Marketing, it became obvious that we share the same vision. Of course, we were delighted to accept this wonderful opportunity."
For Stolle, the highlight of the weekend was the children’s participation in the media calls.
"We had a fantastic position right by the entrance, so every player and coach passed by,” he said. "At first, we had to encourage a few stars to come over and sign a Glücksliga shirt. By the end, the players were coming over on their own, saying, ‘We haven’t been here yet, can we come as well?’ That was an incredible experience."
After the semi-final between SC Magdeburg and Füchse Berlin, the Glücksliga children also experienced how close joy and disappointment are in sport.
"We walked past the changing rooms and saw some disappointed Magdeburg players," said Stolle. "But that’s sport. For the children, it was incredibly exciting. Our children are always winners. For us, the final result doesn’t really matter."
The organisers of the inclusion project hope initiatives like the one in Cologne will encourage more clubs to establish their own Glücksliga teams.
"Our role, alongside supporting clubs directly and organising events, is to create positive visibility for the Glücksliga," Stolle said. "The stronger the partners we have by our side, the greater our ability to reach more people. Every child who was previously inactive and is now playing sport — especially our favourite sport, handball — is a success."
The weekend in Cologne could be described as a 'win-win-win' situation, as Gorenje’s Ray Zhang put it: "It was fantastic to see the happy faces of the parents and children. That makes us incredibly proud."
Main photo © Jure Erzen / kolektiff
