8 Hours of Pure Floorball Joy in the Middle of a Shopping Mall, a floorball experience like no other!
Earlier this month, the Mall of Berlin, in Germany, transformed into a true floorball paradise. In a pleasant 20 degrees, the German Street Floorball Tour 2024 kicked off here, offering 15 teams a unique atmosphere, playing floorball right in the middle of a shopping mall!
Early on Saturday morning, the youth tournament began on the mall’s Plaza. In an exciting round-robin competition, five teams faced off against each other. In the end, SC DHfK Leipzig secured first place and the coveted day tickets for the Final4 weekend in Berlin in 2025.
The afternoon saw the adult group stage commence. The games were held on a Gerflor outdoor court, drawing numerous shopping spectators (around 70,000 on a typical Saturday) who loudly cheered on the players. Particularly thrilling was the encounter between amateur and national players, leading to exciting and fiercely contested matches. Despite the high level of competition, fair play was paramount, allowing all games to proceed smoothly without referees. While the adults battled in the group stage for a spot in the finals, the Berlin-Brandenburg Floorball Association took the opportunity to introduce themselves and the sport to a wider audience.
At the end of the day, the team “MFBC Street,” led by national player Svenson Hoppe, prevailed and secured a place in the final. All finalists from the preliminary rounds are expected at the grand FZ event in Hamburg on July 14, 2024, where they will compete for tickets to the already sold-out WFC final weekend in Sweden.
Both Mall of Berlin and the Berlin-Brandenburg Floorball Association were key in making this event happen and in order to make floorball possible in such an unique environment.
Stop number 2 on the tour was Hamburg’s Gänsemarkt which was transformed into a vibrant center of street floorball. Despite changeable weather conditions, which culminated in bright sunshine from midday onwards, a total of ten teams gathered to demonstrate their floorball skills. After several exciting games and thrilling duels, the team based around German national player and tour supporter Flemming Kühl, known under the name FZ17, prevailed in the final against the Gummibärenbande from Schenefeld. Third place went to the Old Land Schirms from Mittelnkirchen, who narrowly beat the Torhamsters, the university sports team from Hamburg.
Photo by Felix Vatterodt
Mülheim an der Ruhr just had their event this weekend as the Street Floorball tour continues to travel across Germany and Austria to bring floorball to the streets and make it open and available for all!
The tour now continues to Butzbach (June 29), Heidelberg (June 30), Salzburg (July 6), and Bamberg (July 7).
More information can be found on the Floorball Deutschland website
