Football ID Championship in Darmstadt | Members‘ Network Meeting

The tournament kicks off on Sunday (May 31st, 6:30pm) with the opening ceremony in Darmstadt’s Bürgerpark. The following day, the German Football ID Championship begins. Football ID is for people with intellectual or physical disabilities. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the matches for the German Championship will take place, with teams from each federal state competing against each other. In addition to the sporting events, there will be a barbecue, a stadium tour at the Bölle (Darmstadt’s stadium), and a school festival with a variety of activities for all participants. On Wednesday afternoon, after the final match between the federal states of Hesse and Saxony-Anhalt, the awards ceremony for the German Football ID Championship will be held. We wish all participants the best of luck and lots of fun!

Just yesterday evening (May 26th), SpVgg Greuther Fürth secured their Bundesliga survival in the relegation play-offs against Rot-Weiss Essen. In contrast, the lower-league team, SC Paderborn, won their relegation play-off for the Bundesliga. This also means that SV Darmstadt 98 will play against VfL Wolfsburg next season. The last time Darmstadt faced Wolfsburg in the top flight was in the 2023/24 season, as was the case with 1. FC Heidenheim, who, as a direct relegated team, will also face Darmstadt next season. The third and final team relegated from the Bundesliga is FC St. Pauli, who last played against the South Hessian side three years ago in the second division.

Looking at the promoted teams from the third division, one has to dig a little deeper into the archives. Half a decade ago, in 2021, the match between SV Darmstadt 98 and VfL Osnabrück was on the schedule. Among the five new opponents, there is also a premiere: Energie Cottbus and SV 98 have never faced each other before; this will happen for the first time in the 2026/27 season.

This Wednesday and Thursday (May 27th and 28th), representatives of members from German professional football clubs will meet at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor to discuss various membership-related topics. Darmstadt 98 will present their club, membership campaigns, and everything from the „Bölle Bande“ (a local fan group) to the „Silberlilien“ (Silver Lilies) award. Several workshops will then take place over the two days, providing an opportunity for mutual learning and improvement of club membership processes.

Last Thursday (May 21st), the SV Darmstadt 98 fan team suffered a 3-2 away defeat against TSV Braunshardt. The early 2-0 deficit proved too much to overcome. Despite scoring two goals to close the gap, a comeback eluded them, especially after the second team received two red cards in the 82nd and 85th minutes.

Now, the final match of the season is upon them: On Sunday (May 31st, 1pm), they aim to secure their place in the league with a home game against SV Erzhausen II. As things stand, the second team occupies the relegation playoff spot and could either drop into the regular league or secure direct survival. Good luck!

„MSKA“ stands for Modern Sports Karate Associates and was developed by Dr. Rudolf Jakhel. The karate club is a division of SV Darmstadt 98 and celebrated its 55th anniversary on Saturday (May 23rd). The karate style practiced is geared towards competitive sport, and this was also reflected in the anniversary celebrations. The day began early with various competitions in front of international guests, before the winners were announced in the afternoon. The festivities continued into the evening with a champagne reception, followed by dinner and speeches. A party followed, bringing the day to a fitting close.

On Friday (May 29th), Darmstadt 98 loanee Leon Klassen celebrates his 26th birthday! Klassen made five appearances for SV 98 in the first half of the season, before joining Grazer AK on loan in the winter. Since arriving in Austria, he has been a regular starter. He has started every match and has only been substituted three times. The full-back has hardly missed a minute of play. Just recently, in the final match of the season, in which Grazer AK secured their survival in the league, Klassen provided the assist for the opening goal, marking his second goal contribution of the season. Enjoy your summer break, and we wish you all the best for your new year, Leon!

Peter Schmidt, a member of the council of elders, celebrated his 88th birthday yesterday, Tuesday, May 26th! He has been following the Lilies at the stadium since 1946, has been a member of SV Darmstadt 98 for 76 years, and has served on the council of elders since 2014. SV 98 extends its heartfelt congratulations on your birthday and thanks you for your long-standing loyalty to the club, dear Peter.

On the final matchday of the U19 DFB Youth League, SV Darmstadt 98’s U19 team faced SC Fortuna Köln on Saturday (May 23). The young Lilies took an early 1-0 lead (7th minute), but by the 56th minute, it was Köln who had scored three times in front of the Darmstadt goal, putting Darmstadt’s U19s down 3-1. However, Patrick Kurt’s team showed great resilience: with two late goals (81st and 84th minutes), the young Lilies fought back in spectacular fashion to secure a draw and a point to end the season.

Still in first place! San Antonio FC secured a 2-1 victory against Sacramento Republic FC on Sunday (May 24th). Christian Sorto opened the scoring with a spectacular shot from the edge of the penalty area (27th minute), before his provider, Dmitri Erofeev, doubled the lead six minutes later with a stunning curling shot into the top corner after a successful pressing move – 2-0 SAFC (33rd minute). In the second half, the visitors pulled one back from a corner kick, which also proved to be the final score. San Antonio’s next match is on Thursday (May 28th, 1:30am CET), away against Sporting Jax. Carlos Llamosa’s team will be determined to defend their top spot in the table.