On October 24, 2025, the German Football Culture Awards were presented, and we were right in the thick of it. We, as EmptyStands, were nominated for the easyCredit Fan Prize “Barrier-Free to Football.” Unfortunately, we did not win the prize; it was apparently a very close call. The jury praised us several times (also in the conversation afterwards) and expressed their appreciation. Bittersweet, but the winners from the Inclusive Fan Clubs of TSG Wilhemsdorf also very much deserved it, and in the end, the evening was well spent networking and exchanging experiences, as there were many well-known faces there, and not just from the world of football. For instance, we sat in the immediate vicinity of Claudia Roth, Jürgen Klopp and Alexandra Popp. For the greats in football, Empty Stands is something quite new, but after yesterday, at least some have heard of us and know the basics of who we are and what our mission is.
At the award ceremony, alongside the Fan Prize, the Football Book and the Football Quote of the Year were also chosen. The jury’s decision for the football book went to Barbi Markovics “Piksi Book.” Juror and podcaster Danny Neidl described the novel in his laudatory speech as a “literary solo run – fast-paced, poignant, and deeply moving […].” For the Football Quote of the Year, everyone present was allowed to get involved and vote. The choices were “Then the dice will be rolled again” by Lothar Matthäus about the national team’s goalkeeper situation, as well as “I used to watch for 80 minutes, today it’s 90,” by Nils Petersen looking back on his role as a top joker. In the end, Nils Petersen won, and even if we won’t reveal here what we voted for, let it be said: we naturally voted for the only right quote. At the end of the evening, Jürgen Klopp received the Walther Bensemann Prize, an award for his cultural bridge-building, just as Walther Bensemann did in 1898 by organizing the first international match.
After the official part, a gala was held to celebrate the day. With appetizers, sparkling wine, and the occasional (unfortunately not stadium-) beer, the evening came to a nice conclusion. For my partner and me as Hertha fans, a small unofficial highlight consisted of meeting Hans Meyer, who led Hertha BSC to league safety in the 03/04 season. He took our enthusiasm with humor and asked if we knew that he wasn’t Jürgen Klopp. Yes, we knew, and that was exactly the reason for our excitement. After further intense conversations, a long, exciting day slowly drew to a close, and we left the stage of the after-show party to Thiemo Müller (Kicker), Jonas Karpka (journalist and activist), as well as Nikfried from “behindert nicht den Fußball” and all the others. Even without winning the prize, we were able to show everyone that Empty Stands does not belong on the substitution bench, but is an established force in the lineup of the barrier-free football world.