“A small district championship”

Freiberger Zeitung | 09.12.22 | sb

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Football: Two interesting indoor tournaments will take place before the holidays in Brand-Erbisdorf and Freiberg. Football fans can look forward to the 14th Indoor Regio Cup on 16 December and the Silberner Budenzauber for U13 teams on 22 December. Steffen Bauer spoke with organiser Andreas Gartner (48), former manager of BSC Freiberg.

Freie Presse: What can football fans expect this year? Andreas Gartner: We have invited an interesting field again and hope newcomers from Großhartmannsdorf, Frankenberg and Zug will bring even more vocal supporters to Brand-Erbisdorf. In sporting terms, the tournament always feels like a small district championship.

There used to be a prominent guest. Why are there no higher-division teams now? Mainly because professional teams have full schedules. It no longer worked out. Apart from Aue and CFC, all the best Saxon teams have already been here: Dynamo Dresden, FSV Zwickau, Lok Leipzig, VfB Auerbach and VFC Plauen.

How have attendance figures been? Our minimum was 450 in 2011, when there was a metre of snow outside. Otherwise we average around 700 fans, an outstanding figure for a tournament like this.

The Indoor Regio Cup has become a real success story. Our idea of bringing fans and players together across league boundaries has worked. Anticipation is high again and I hope for another full house at the Cottagymnasium hall.

You organise the IRC and Silberner Budenzauber through 3g-projects. What is behind it? Our sports and event agency provides a platform for various projects. We organise two extreme hikes, Hikethon in spring and Freiberger Acht in autumn, as well as the Silberstadt-Trophy and Sommer-Cup tournaments. We support Chemnitzer FC and Czech club FK Banik Most in their EU-funded cooperation, organise training camps, friendlies and security games for amateur clubs, including ATSV Wurzen against Lok Leipzig in the Saxony Cup this year. My two sons are my main support, and many friends help too. Everyone enjoys developing something in the region.

How do you finance it? Around 30 companies and institutions support us. Cooperation with Freiberg, Brand-Erbisdorf and the district is excellent. The positive response from spectators and participants helps make it a win-win situation.

What awaits fans at the second Silberner Budenzauber? Some of the best eastern German U13 players. Chemnitzer FC, Dynamo Dresden, Energie Cottbus, Erzgebirge Aue and Carl Zeiss Jena play in the Talente-Spielrunde Nordost, the highest league for this age group. We want to show local children the first sports-school age group and what it takes to start on the road to becoming a professional. We are proud that so many academies accepted. Thanks to regional and national sponsors, entry is free. I hope the Ernst-Grube-Halle will be full on the first day of the holidays, and perhaps we can welcome European guests in future.

Caption: Indoor football before the holidays: around 700 fans are expected at the Cottagymnasium hall in Brand-Erbisdorf for the 14th Indoor Regio Cup. Photo: Mario Hamburg/archive.

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