Germany Day 7

Saturday 3rd August  - Day 7

Today was match day and we were ready to attend the match between SV Babelsberg 03 and locomotive Leipzig, we were made aware of tensions between the fans of the two teams as Babelsberg is known for its stance against racism and some of Leipzig supporters have neo nazi views.

We travelled the game by tram and noticed a high police presence in the area, it didn't feel much different from they type of presence we witnessed in England when two rival teams play but the tension felt much higher and you could sense that it was about much more than the football. 

Prior to the match we met with other supporters at the fanprojekt which is a meeting place for fans which is run by youth workers, their role is to work with young people who may be at risk, through football hooliganism and also due to their involvements in protest against the fascist and their views. The project was like a youth club/ bar where people met to play pool, darts and table football, there was a friendly feel and we felt welcome by the locals, the building was old and its decor was run down, we compared this to the provisions we have in Manchester for young people such as the factory youth Zone where we had taken the German young people when they came to Manchester.

After spending some time at the fanprojekt we walked to the match together, the atmosphe at the stadium was tense and fun, we ate some great food and purchased babelsberg supporters t shirts before heading to the stands

Once inside the stands we really could sense the atmosphere it was hard to know whether it was about the football or the opposing views of the two teams supporters. Across the way we were witness to scenes of racist and homophobic chants from a large group of Leipzig fans, the majority of the fans were not a part of this and there was a clear distinguish between the two, we wondered whether the fascist were really football fans of just trouble causers as they didn't seem to have an interest in the game at all.

Throughout the match it was difficult to focus on the game due the chants from both teams, but the atmosphere felt electric, we soon picked up on the songs that were being sang and joined in feeling a part of something quite special. 

At times the game had to be stopped due to violent out burst from fans, pitch invasions and the climbing of the barricades, at one time our group even ran away a little with fear that something was going to happen.

Back to the football and SV babelsberg played well winning 1-0 at the end of the game the team came over to our stand and celebrated in front of us and shook our hands, it really was exciting.  We waited inside the stadium until the other supporters had left and been escorted away from the stadium, then made our way as a group back to the fanprojekt, it dawned upon some of the group at this time that the risk of violence towards us would not be about our support for the team but because of the colour of our skin, or the political views we had, this was a scary thought as we don't feel often like this in our own communities.

We returned to the hostel with a visible high police presence on the street, we we still singing our supporters songs, attending the match had been empowering and motivating. 

It was our last evening, we had the option to go out but we choose to stay in cook and to spend the night at the river again, I was a great night, wit lots of laughter and some tears!