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Borussia Dortmund is an organisation highly distinguished by its passionate and loyal supporters and the love story between Borussia Dortmund and its fans is envied by most, if not all football clubs. The beauty of this club is that they maximize efforts to reciprocate the love and support of their fans - be it their players, coaches or club management. The club is always trying to reach out to their fans and stay connected. It makes them feel part of the BVB family even if they are living hundreds of thousands of miles away! The BVB Asia Fan Club Gathering 2019 was born out of this very Borussia spirit.
I have been a BVB supporter for about 8 years now. I had the idea of creating a BVB supporters club in my hometown Pune, a few years ago when I wanted to be connected to others who felt the same for this magnificent club. I was amazed to see how excited the club was to have us on board, and they kept in touch frequently.
Fast track to August 2019, we received a mail from BVB Asia saying that they have organised a 3 days fans club meet from 30th August to 1st September in Bangkok, Thailand and are willing to fly in a couple of representatives from each fan club. BVB Legend Roman Weidenfeller was also to attend this event!
This gathering was the most self-less initiative any club would ever take in terms of all the efforts and investments and not once was it commercialised. It was all done to honor us as fans and they have given us some of the best memories of our lives.
Who organised the gathering:
BVB Asia Pacific Pte Ltd and the hosts Borussia Dortmund Fans Club, Thailand.
Who attended the gathering:
BVB Legend - Roman Weidenfeller, BVB Asia Pacific, Managing Director - Suresh Letchmanan and others from the BVB Asia team.
Representatives of fans clubs from India, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, South Korea, China and Indonesia
Day 1
Press Conference
The first event I attended was the press release of a regional partnership between Borussia Dortmund and Stiebel Eltron. Stiebel Eltron produces hot water appliances. Both are based out of Germany and are big names in their respective industries. Stiebel Eltron has released a limited-edition Black & Yellow BVB water heater + shower.
Some representatives from the fan clubs were invited for the event. After the press conference, a trivia was held for the fans and a lucky draw with some exciting prizes. We even had an opportunity to meet with Roman Weidenfeller which was a dream come true. The entire management was extremely friendly and welcoming during the entire event.
Bangkok Screening Room
The next half of day one was even more interesting. BVB hosted us for a casual meet at the Bangkok Screening Room to socialize, drink and eat with fellow fans clubs administrators, Roman, BVB Management and Mascot Emma! Some BVB goodies were placed in each seat for everyone!
This was followed by an interview with Suresh Letchmanan and Roman Weidenfeller which was a fun and interesting session!
We then watched the first 2 episodes of Amazon Prime original series ‘Inside Borussia Dortmund’. It was a great ice breaker and was wonderful to meet such interesting and passionate people!
Day 2
SoccerPro Bangkok
Day 2 started early at 8:00am as we all gathered at the Radisson Blu, Bangkok to travel together for a mini football tournament hosted at SoccerPro venue in the city.
As we entered SoccerPro we were given BVB kits. Some warm up exercises and drills were arranged and we were divided into 4 teams for a mini tournament:
Roman & Team, Team Reus, Team Brandt and Team Sancho.
Watching Weidenfeller in action just in front of us was an amazing experience in itself.
Cultural Exchange and Workshop
A workshop was held to understand the fan culture of each country and share experiences and challenges.
The representatives were then divided into smaller groups of 3 countries. Each group was led by one person from the BVB Management who facilitated the discussion. The management were really interested in understanding our local challenges and supporting us as we look to grow our supporters clubs in our respective countries.
The interactive session made us feel so much more connected to the club and part of the BVB Family.
Viewing Party
The last event of this gathering was the screening of Union Berlin vs Borussia Dortmund held at “The Sportsman” pub. Despite the result going against us, we had an amazing time. The screening was open to all fans in Bangkok so there was a huge crowd. Another meet and greet session with Roman and lucky draw was followed by the match that finally ended the memorable gathering.
This gathering justifies the spirit of Borussia, “Echte Liebe” meaning true and unconditional love. How this club has selflessly given back to us will always remain in our hearts. We have made memories for a lifetime. We are so grateful to Borussia Dortmund, Suresh Letchmanan and the whole of BVB Asia Pacific team for making this happen.
Even though we live in another continent, but we are and always will be black and yellow. Echte Liebe!
By Tejaswini Alkute.
