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”.
The aim of the cooperation between the two clubs is to promote young players, an intensive intercultural and knowledge exchange in the areas of sports science, sports medicine and training science as well as marketing, sales, media and innovation. The signing follows successful discussions between the two sides.
Martin Kowalewski, Managing Director of Marketing & Sales at SV 98: “We are looking forward to a successful and fruitful collaboration that enriches cultural understanding and expands our know-how.” He adds: “We are convinced that cooperation and synergies with reliable “Our partners are part of our progress and further development, and that all sides will benefit from the mutual support in the youth sector and the mutual exchange of knowledge.”
“We are honoured to work with SV Darmstadt on this project,” said Bobby Perez, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of SS&E: “The opportunity for San Antonio FC to work with this historic, values-driven club is special, and we are grateful for Darmstadt as a new strategic partner.”
“The newly concluded cooperation agreement opens up promising opportunities to use the integrative power of sport to bring people from all walks of life together,” explain Mayor Benz and Mayor Nirenberg. “We therefore strongly support this cooperation agreement and see it as a further important step towards strengthening our city partnership.” Mayor Benz adds: “The visit also opens up the opportunity to strengthen the municipal partnership in view of current crises and the presidential election in the USA and to expand the sports clubs project into this important area.”
From June 26th to July 2nd, a delegation from SV Darmstadt 98 visited the US state of Texas and the city of San Antonio there. In addition to meetings with officials from the local soccer club San Antonio FC and the SS&E, the program also included visits to the city of San Antonio and the Southwest Research Institute.
From July 20th to 23rd, 2024, a delegation from San Antonio visited the science city of Darmstadt. In addition to taking part in the signing of the “Memorandum of Understanding”, Mayor Ron Nirenberg met with Mayor Hanno Benz for an exchange and took part in a panel discussion on the topic of “Transatlantic Relations” at the TU Darmstadt.
Since 2017, Darmstadt and San Antonio have maintained a close partnership that includes lively exchange on political, cultural, university and social levels as well as in the areas of youth work and sports. This partnership is based on the conviction that intensive exchange and personal encounters at all levels represent added value for both urban societies.
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.
SV Darmstadt 98 successfully completed their second pre-season friendly, defeating Verbandsliga side VfR Fehlheim 8-0 (4-0).
