Cancelled! Corona stops indoor football

Azadi premiere canceled, Confima Cup follows suit

The first tournament nationwide after the pandemic break in 2020/21 was planned by SV Azadi Lübeck, the Hansehalle was firmly booked for December 12th, ten strong teams were invited and had agreed, including the futsal stars of the Hamburg Panthers. Last Saturday, Azadi pulled the rip cord as part of the announcement of the new corona guidelines and restrictions. “It should be a huge event for a good cause, we already had a lot of donations,” said Kordo Mohammad from the Azadi organization team to the LN. “But we find it irresponsible to bring so many people together in one closed space – with 2G it would only have been a light variant. We are sorry, but we are postponing the tournament and will try again at a later date. “

FCD plans to try again in December 2022

This is exactly how the tournament planners at FC Dornbreite want to proceed. For their now traditional Confima Cup, the second largest indoor soccer spectacle in Schleswig-Holstein, they had the Hansehalle on December 30th. booked, the participants were top-class. Here, too, the Panthers had agreed, of course also the tournament series winner “LN-Buzzerboys” with his strong all-star selection. The FCD board met on Monday evening, Dirk Balk from the Confima organization team said to the LN: “Rising incidences in connection with an indoor spectacle are currently not compatible. It was with a heavy heart that we decided to cancel the tournament. ”That same evening, all participants were informed – and immediately invited again for the 2022 Confima edition.

No Phoenix and Gottschi Cup

The third big event, which was planned in the Hansehalle, will not take place either. For the first time, 1. FC Phönix wanted to act as an indoor organizer, had big plans, possibly even playing on artificial turf in the hall, which was a January date blocked. And now canceled again. The organizers of the Gottschi Cup had to proceed in the same way, who had already sent celebrity teams with well-known ex-professionals onto the floor six times in favor of the Cystic Fibrosis eV in the Bad Schwartauer Jahnhalle. The hall was blocked for January 22nd and 29th. The appointment was canceled.

Fair Play Cup on the brink

The organizers of the Fair Play Cup, the largest regional youth indoor tournament, which is planned for the last week of December in Ratekau, would like to wait. “We will observe all the rules and we will act responsibly,” promises Orga boss Tim Schlichting, who wants to “still monitor the situation”. With great interest he looks to Kiel in the direction of the regional association SHFV. He is the host of the largest indoor soccer tournament in Germany. The Hallenmasters is the unofficial indoor state championship, the best SH teams are qualified, including Holstein Kiel, VfB and Phönix Lübeck, as well as SV Eichede or SV Todesfelde.

Indoor masters under pressure

Advance sales for the spectacle have long since started, around 9,000 tickets are available – the contingents for the participants are sold out. The SHFV is still hesitant to cancel its tournament – but has alternatives ready. So you can imagine postponing the whole thing by a year. Tickets remain valid, the participants are the same – plus any new qualifiers. This Tuesday (November 23rd) they sit together again at the association and assess the situation. The pressure on the SHFV is increasing, however. VfB-LÜbeck sports director Rocco Leeser says: “I cannot imagine that we would send our boys to 9,000 people in a closed hall. We also have a responsibility. ”The SHFV probably has no choice but to cancel the 2022 tournament – before the participants themselves declare their withdrawal.

From Jürgen Rönnau