{"id":32,"date":"2005-12-22T14:04:13","date_gmt":"2005-12-22T14:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spiritoffootball.com\/2006\/blog\/2005\/12\/22\/the-ball-on-the-petersberg"},"modified":"2010-01-18T22:49:21","modified_gmt":"2010-01-18T22:49:21","slug":"the-ball-on-the-petersberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/blog\/2005\/12\/22\/the-ball-on-the-petersberg\/","title":{"rendered":"“The Ball” on the Petersberg"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s a copy of some coverage that we (both Spirits of Football) were given recently in the Th\u00fcringer Landes Zeitung. Many thanks to John Taylor for a translation of the article. (UPDATE: you can find the original German article here<\/a><\/em>)<\/p>\n

\n

“The Ball” on the Petersberg<\/h4>\n

At the Olympics it’s the blazing torch that’s carried across the world to its destination \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for the world soccer championship it’s “the Ball” that’s kicked from Battersea Park, in London, to next year’s opening game in Munich. Kicked by football fans accompanying Christian Wach, from Bristol (UK), and by everyone, young or old, they meet en route.<\/p>\n

Erfurters included: this coming year “the Ball” will dribble and bounce through Erfurt before coming to rest in Munich — for the fellow “Spirits of Football” from Erfurt and Bristol have joined forces. It’s both the name of Christian’s initiative — and the name of the Erfurt association set up by New Zealander Andrew Aris. He wants to make the capital a centre of sporting and cultural activity for the 2006 World Cup and, as reported in the TLZ, has secured prime minister Dieter Althaus as patron. Beach soccer and a beach cocktail bar to be built at Br\u00fchl are part of this — as is a 24-hour football marathon on the Petersberg with “the Ball” which should by then have arrived in Erfurt.<\/p>\n

It will arrive covered in signatures, since all who join in can leave their mark on the leather, just like at the 2002 World Cup in Seoul. “Football knows no frontiers and is not bothered about borders, we play as ambassadors for international understanding”, says Christian explaining the idea behind his sporting enterprise.<\/p>\n

In this spirit, “the Ball” travelled along the Great Wall of China in 2002 and was the focus of a friendly match with monks in Tibet who wore the shirt of their favourite team under their robes — and in 2006 is set to bridge the former German-German border at “Point Alpha,” between Hesse and Thuringia. “The wall and the frontier have gone as structures but not yet in the minds of men.” Christian and the footballers want to make a small contribution in this direction. And “in passing” offer proof in Germany that English fans are not all lager louts\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

On a smaller scale football will bridge borders as early as tomorrow — in the Th\u00fcringerhalle on the initiative of Erfurt’s “Spirit of Football” activists. “Christmas 2005 — Fans into Friends” is the name of the sporting and cultural festival that runs from 4 to 11pm. Teams from Russia, Africa, Poland and Vietnam will try their skills against players from Rot-Weiss Erfurt, the Engelsburg Student Club and also the Thuringian Press Group (as reported in TLZ). A samba band is preparing an evening programme from 8pm on which also includes eastern dancing, a “buffet of cultures” with international specialities, and stalls at which clubs and associations with an international focus will present their work. The soccer victors will take their applause at 9pm, with Hartwig Gauder presenting the cups, and from 11pm there follows an after show party in the Engelsburg.<\/p>\n

Info: Fans become Friends; tomorrow 4-11pm Th\u00fcringerhalle
\nContact: www.spirit-of-football.com<\/a> (Erfurt)
\nwww.spiritoffootball.com<\/a> (Bristol)
\n14.12.2005
\nAnette Elsner<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

“Der Ball” auf dem Petersberg<\/h4>\n

Erfurt. (tlz) Bei Olympia ist es die Fackel, die brennend durch alle L\u00e4nder bis zum Austragungsort gebracht wird – bei der Fu\u00dfball-Weltmeisterschaft ist es “Der Ball”, der vom Battersea Park in London aus durch alle L\u00e4nder gekickt wird bis zum Er\u00f6ffnungsspiel 2006 in M\u00fcnchen. Gekickt von Fu\u00dfballfans um Christian Wach aus Bristol (Gro\u00dfbritannien) – und von allen, ob Jung oder Alt, die sie auf ihrem Weg treffen.<\/p>\n

Auch die Erfurter: “Der Ball” wird im kommenden Jahr durch Erfurt rollen und springen, bevor er in M\u00fcnchen aufschl\u00e4gt – denn die “Spirits of football” aus Erfurt und Bristol haben sich gefunden. So hei\u00dft Christians Aktion – und so hei\u00dft der Erfurter Verein des Neuseel\u00e4nders Andrew Aris, der die Landeshauptstadt zur WM 2006 in ein Zentrum von sportlichen und kulturellen Aktivit\u00e4ten verwandeln will und daf\u00fcr Ministerpr\u00e4sident Dieter Althaus als Schirmherren gewonnen hat (TLZ berichtete mehrfach). Dazu geh\u00f6ren Beach-Soccer und eine Beach- Cocktail-Bar, die im Br\u00fchl aufgebaut werden sollen – dazu geh\u00f6rt aber auch ein 24- Stunden- Fu\u00dfball-Marathon auf dem Petersberg, mit “Dem Ball”, der dann in Erfurt angekommen sein soll.<\/p>\n

Voller Unterschriften – denn alle, die mitmachen, k\u00f6nnen sich auf dem runden Leder verewigen, wie schon 2002 zur Fu\u00dfball-WM im koreanischen Seoul. “Fu\u00dfball kennt keine Grenzen und k\u00fcmmert sich nicht um Grenzen, wir spielen als Botschafter f\u00fcr V\u00f6lkerverst\u00e4ndigung”, erkl\u00e4rt Christian die Idee hinter der sportlichen Aktion.<\/p>\n

So rollte “Der Ball” 2002 an der chinesischen Mauer entlang, war Mittelpunkt im Freundschaftsspiel mit M\u00f6nchen in Tibet, die zur Kutte Trikots ihrer Lieblingsmannschaften trugen – und soll 2006 am “Point Alpha” zwischen Hessen und Th\u00fcringen auch die einstige innerdeutsche Grenze \u00fcberwinden. “Mauer und Grenze sind zwar als Bauten gefallen, aber noch nicht wirklich in den K\u00f6pfen der Menschen”, wollen Christian Wach und die Fu\u00dfballer auch einen kleinen Beitrag in dieser Hinsicht leisten. Und “ganz nebenbei” in Deutschland den Beweis antreten, dass englische Fans nicht nur Hooligans sind…<\/p>\n

Im kleineren Ma\u00dfstab wird der Fu\u00dfball bereits morgen Grenzen \u00fcberwinden – in der Th\u00fcringenhalle, auf Initiative der Erfurter “Spirit of Football”-Aktiven. “Weihnachten 2005 – Fans werden Freunde” hei\u00dft das Sport- und Kulturfest, das dann von 16 bis 23 Uhr steigt. Mannschaften aus Russland, Afrika, Polen oder Vietnam messen sich dann mit Spielern von Rot-Wei\u00df Erfurt, dem Studentenclub Engelsburg, aber auch der Zeitungsgruppe Th\u00fcringen (TLZ berichtete). Ab 20 Uhr bereitet eine Samba-Band auf das Abendprogramm vor, zu dem orientalischer Tanz ebenso geh\u00f6rt wie ein “Buffet der Kulturen” mit internationalen Spezialit\u00e4ten sowie St\u00e4nde, an denen sich Vereine und Verb\u00e4nde pr\u00e4sentieren, die in ihrer Arbeit international ausgerichtet sind. Siegerehrung ist um 21 Uhr, die Pokale \u00fcberreicht Hartwig Gauder – und ab 23 Uhr steigt die After- Show-Party in der Engelsburg.<\/p>\n

Info: “Fans werden Freunde”: Morgen, 16 – 23 Uhr, Th\u00fcringenhalle.
\nContact: www.spirit-of-football.com<\/a> (Erfurt)
\nwww.spiritoffootball.com<\/a> (Bristol)
\n14.12.2005
\nVon Anette Elsner<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s a copy of some coverage that we (both Spirits of Football) were given recently in the Th\u00fcringer Landes Zeitung. Many thanks to John Taylor for a translation of the article. (UPDATE: you can find the original German article here) “The Ball” on the Petersberg At the Olympics it’s the blazing torch that’s carried across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"geo":null,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180,"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions\/180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theball.tv\/2006\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}