FAQs regarding the postponed friendly match against San Antonio
SV 98 answers the most important questions about the postponed friendly match of the Lilies against their cooperation partner San Antonio FC.
17.10.2025 / USA
In March 2026: Lilies travel to San Antonio
SV Darmstadt 98 will use the international break in March 2026 for a trip to San Antonio, Texas. The Lilies will visit Darmstadt’s partner city from March 22-28 and play a friendly match against cooperation partner San Antonio FC (SAFC) on Wednesday, 25 March. The primary focus of the trip is to deepen the already existing ties with the city of San Antonio and SAFC, as well as to build new partnerships and engage in mutual knowledge exchange across various areas.
Markus Pfitzner, Vice President SV 98: „It is truly something special that SV Darmstadt 98 will travel to the USA next year, writing a small piece of history in the process. We are particularly pleased that this trip is part of a relationship that was not artificially created but grew naturally out of the existing partnership between the two cities. Over the past 15 months, our cooperation with San Antonio FC and Spurs Sports and Entertainment has been characterized by close exchange and growing familiarity, and now we are eagerly looking forward to the visit next year. We will take this opportunity to represent our Lilies values overseas. In addition to the friendly match as the sporting highlight, we are excited to meet the local community, build further networks and partnerships, and also become active in the social sphere.“
Martin Kowalewski, Managing Director SV 98: „From the moment we signed the official cooperation agreement in July 2024, both sides envisioned a friendly match in San Antonio. We are very pleased that we have now found a time period that fits both schedules and gives us the opportunity to represent SV Darmstadt 98 in the World Cup year in the DFL’s target market, the USA. This trip represents another milestone in our close collaboration with the city of San Antonio and San Antonio FC. I am convinced that we will be able to use the on-site visit for intensive knowledge exchange and that we can learn a great deal from an organization like Spurs Sports and Entertainment—not only in sports, but also in many areas that are relevant to our club, such as marketing and merchandising.“
The match against San Antonio FC is scheduled for March 25. Additionally, the Lilies will train at the SAFC facilities. Various meetings with representatives of both cities, SAFC, and SS&E are planned, along with cultural and social activities.
SV 98 are working closely on the latest USA trip with the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, which supports its clubs to grow the visibility of the Bundesliga globally, as part of an overarching international marketing strategy.
Fans interested in accompanying SV 98 to San Antonio, 22-28 March are welcome to contact fanbeauftragter@sv98.de.
USA tour: Lilies postpone friendly match to September 29th
With the upcoming trip to San Antonio (Texas) in mind, SV 98 has decided to postpone the planned friendly match against its cooperation partner San Antonio FC to September 29, 2026. The delegation trip with representatives from the board and management will still take place.
„It’s exciting how the partnership has developed“
There are two soccer clubs in the US state of Texas with which SV 98 has a special connection. Since July 2024, there has been an official cooperation between SV Darmstadt 98 and San Antonio FC (SAFC) from Darmstadt's US twin city of San Antonio. In addition, there is SVD Beaumont Texas, which was founded by Texas Lilien fans with the support of SV Darmstadt 98. Last summer, both clubs, together with SV 98, hosted the first Lilien soccer camps in the US. Lilien Managing Director Martin Kowalewski also took the opportunity to meet with representatives of SAFC, Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E), and the city of San Antonio in San Antonio. We look back on the very productive visit.
Lilien Football Camps in the USA
SV 98 maintains a special relationship with two American clubs, US second-division side San Antonio FC and Texas-based SVD Beaumont, through official partnerships. Football is naturally the unifying factor, and both sides are particularly committed to developing young talent. As part of these partnerships, SV 98 has now held its first soccer camps in the USA under the guidance of coaches from the Lilies.
Video-recap: Visit from texas
In recent days, SV 98 was privileged to welcome some very special guests. Club officials, coaches, and players from SVD Beaumont Texas visited the Lilies as part of the two clubs‘ partnership, which emphasises the social power of football. We summarise the days with our video.
SVD Beaumont visits the Lilies
In recent days, SV 98 was privileged to welcome some very special guests. Club officials, coaches, and players from SVD Beaumont Texas visited the Lilies as part of the two clubs' partnership, which emphasises the social power of football. The visit culminated in the professionals' home victory against SpVgg Greuther Fürth (April 5). We take a look back at the eventful days.
SV 98 launches landing page for USA cooperation
“Lilies go USA” – This is the headline of the homepage of the new, English-language landing page of SV Darmstadt 98, which is specifically designed for the Lilies' USA cooperation with San Antonio FC and Spurs Sports & Entertainment was created and integrated on www.sv98.de. Fans, partners and interested parties can now find all relevant information about this partnership in one central location.
US cooperation: Lilies at the NBA in Paris
A delegation from SV 98 at an NBA game in Paris? What initially seemed a little unrealistic became reality on January 23rd. The background to the visit is relatively easy to explain: Since July 2024, there has been a cooperation agreement between the Lilies, the football club San Antonio FC (SAFC) and Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E). SS&E is the operating company of the US second division team SAFC and the NBA team and five-time champions San Antonio Spurs.
“A visit like this is worth its weight in gold”
In the summer of last year, Tom Eilers (Managing Director of Licensed Players), Martin Kowalewski (Managing Director of Marketing & Sales) and Björn Müller (Sports Director of the Youth Performance Center) traveled to San Antonio. The city in south Texas has been Darmstadt’s official sister city since 2017 and is connected to SV 98 in a certain way through this fact alone. On site, the Lily trio met representatives and officials from the city, the local football club San Antonio FC (SAFC) and Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E), the operating company of SAFC and the NBA team San Antonio Spurs. Content of the discussions at the time: A possible partnership between the Lilies, the SAFC and the SS&E. Those involved quickly agreed: Let’s tackle this project. And what’s more: This cooperation should not only exist on paper, all sides also want to fill it with content.
SV 98 and SVD Beaumont Texas: Partnership with a sporting and social focus
In addition to the collaboration with San Antonio FC announced in July 2024, the Lilies are cooperating as part of their internationalisation strategy with SVD Beaumont Texas, a soccer club in southeast Texas that was founded by Lilien fans with the support of SV Darmstadt 98.
SV 98 agrees on US cooperation: collaboration with San Antonio FC
The two clubs SV Darmstadt 98 and San Antonio FC from Darmstadt’s US sister city of San Antonio will work more closely together in the future. This is the aim of a cooperation agreement signed on Tuesday (July 23rd) between the Lilies and Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E), the operating company of San Antonio FC, was closed. The cooperation was expressly welcomed by Darmstadt’s Mayor Hanno Benz and San Antonio’s Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who were also on site on Tuesday, and supported by signing a “Letter of Support”.