Ralf Drescher from Lichtenberg, October 1, 2019

Traditional club seeks new members

FC Treptow also offers a football home to older people on Thursdays around 6 p.m. at the Willi-Sänger sports complex on Köpenicker Landstraße. Wolfgang Döbler sits in the former gatehouse at the entrance to the pitch. Every now and then, a player pops in and greets him warmly.

Today is training night at the FC Treptow football club, and the gatehouse serves as the club's office. While the club itself has only existed since 1994, the footballers' tradition stretches back much further. "Our predecessor was founded in 1925 as Turbine Berlin, a company club for Bewag employees. The name changed several times over the following years, but the word 'Turbine' and 'Bewag,' as well as the later energy combine, remained loyal to the club," explains Wolfgang Döbler. In 1994, the founding year of the current club, footballers from ESV Lok Schöneweide – also founded in 1925 by railway workers – joined, and since 1996, the footballers of the former SV Narva have strengthened the squad.

“Our first team plays in the Kreisliga A (District League A) and we have around 160 active players. Our club is a member of the Berlin Football Association. We travel all over Berlin for league matches,” explains club chairman Döbler. Residents from a nearby refugee center also play in the third men's team.

In Berlin, FC Treptow is one of the smaller clubs that have to fight for every sponsor. "We could really use some support, because a complete set of team kit quickly costs between 800 and 1200 euros," says Wolfgang Döbler.

Currently, the club has to make do with the artificial turf pitch, which is thankfully equipped with floodlights, because the grass pitch on Köpenicker Landstraße is reserved exclusively for VSG Altglienicke (Regionalliga) due to planned renovations at their home stadium. FC Treptow does not currently have a youth section. Therefore, they are only looking for new players aged 18 to 60. "But we also have space for beginners or those returning to the game after their professional careers," promises Wolfgang Döbler.

Anyone who wants to play for FC Treptow can simply come to training on Tuesday or Thursday from 6 pm. The club chairman can also be found in his office in the gatehouse of the sports complex at Köpenicker Landstraße 186 on Thursdays from 6 pm to 8 pm.

Useful information: www.fc-treptow.de

2015

Refugees get a new chance at FC Treptow