BVB Evonik Football Academy
Looking back...
The year 2021 is drawing to a close and it's about time we had a look back.
Despite the current pandemic, 30,000 children around the world were still able to train under the black and yellow banner this year and give it their all.
Whether it was part of our holiday courses in and around Dortmund, our advanced and performance courses, our ball games courses, our remedial course, or even in the matchday courses later on, children from around the world received their own BVB experience!
We'll take you on a small journey through the not entirely uncomplicated, but eventful year of 2021!
January 2021
The start was very quiet. Due to the imposed lockdown, not a lot was possible unfortunately,
but we made the best of a bad situation! That meant spending a lot of time with family and getting creative!
We had to plan for that too, and we actively searched for an alternative for you, so that you didn't have to miss training and BVB too much.
Home-schooling? We can do that too! Together with our mascot EMMA, we formed diverse and exciting materials for learning at home so that lessons at home didn't become too boring!
But that wasn't everything. In addition to our exciting learning materials, we also published digital training sessions on our Youtube channel so that you could keep yourselves busy with your own football practice.
February 2021
February started with snow, a lot of snow. Dortmund turned into a winter wonderland, inviting snowball fights and snowmen.
And EMMA didn't miss the beautiful winter landscape either of course! She came to the football academy and stadium on her sledge, she helped to clear the snow, and she left behind a snow angel or two.
Since the pandemic prevented us from joining you on the pitch in February too, we still had to stay in contact digitally. Nutrition workshops, training videos, and challenges were a good alternative to seeing you again digitally.
March 2021
March was quite turbulent. On 9 March we were extremely happy because "We're allowed to open again" was the message from all communication channels. Under various guidelines and with a well-developed hygiene concept, we started again immediately. Our advanced and performance courses started training again and we were finally looking forward to full-throttle football in the BVB Evonik Football Academy again.
But it wasn't just in Dortmund that the ball got rolling again - this was also case at the German school Shanghai Hongqiao in China.
Unfortunately, the euphoria in Dortmund didn't last long. The incident rate rose strongly, and we had to close our doors again with a heavy heart, leaving the seats empty once more.
To make things a bit more exciting, we started our new campaign: the "digitalen Nordstadt-Liga“ (digital northern league). This programme had the goal of offering you an alternative to training at home, so that your football wouldn't remain untouched for too long.
April 2021
Easter was just around the corner, and because we unfortunately couldn't all look for Easter eggs together, EMMA had to go off on her own and look through all the hiding places in the world's most beautiful stadium.
Sadly, it was still very quiet in Dortmund. The lockdown continued...
But we received exciting news again from Tokyo: the German school Tokio-Yokohama (DSTY) became one of BVB Evonik Football Academy's partners for the next three years!
May 2021
"To Berlin for Dortmund" was the motto at the start of May. On 13 May, we celebrated the first team's victory in the DFB Cup final!
And there was another reason to celebrate: on 30 May, things finally got going for us again.
The doors were opened, and we could finally welcome you back onto the pitch.
The first holiday courses at SV Brilon and VfL Hiddesen were able to take place under the necessary hygiene regulations, and they were a great success! Both those taking part and the coaches could hardly wait to lace up their boots again over Pentecost.
June 2021
Our holiday courses could also start in Dortmund over Corpus Christi. The excitement was palpable, just as it was for the courses outside of Dortmund.
In addition to the excitement on the pitch, we were also able to be part of dortmund.live. Our coach Dario Scuderi answered a few questions on the topic "When I grow up, I'm going to be a professional footballer.." as part of that, and then he provided a little insight into a training session. You can see the clip on our Youtube channel!
July 2021
There was a lot going on at the BVB Evonik Football Academy in July!
On the other side of the world, our partnership with the German school in Shanghai was extended, and the summer holidays began.
The holiday courses also began in Poland. Over 80 children from the Goczałkowice area were able to develop both themselves personally and their football skills with two training sessions a day.
Throughout the month, we were also able to offer courses with our partners PUMA, OBO Bettermann, Adesso, Rossbacher, and Stauffenberg.
Back to Dortmund. The first week of the summer holidays was coming to an end, and with it the first week of the holiday course. After a long wait, almost 100 children were finally allowed back on the pitch and enjoyed a diverse programme on and off the field. You can take a look at the best moments of the first week here.
But that wasn't everything. It was our birthday, and we were celebrating 10 years of the Football Academy! EMMA dropped by with a delicious birthday cake and congratulated us with a big confetti cannon! And because we couldn't get enough of the celebrations, we decided to celebrate our anniversary for a whole year!
There won't just be great videos, but also a huge competition and a big party in May 2022. Feel free to take a look through!
August 2021
Similar to July, there was a lot going on in August too that we can happily look back on.
The Dortmund Soccer Academy (DSA) also held a summer camp with 115 children in Shizuoka, Japan. That week was another huge success.
Things continued in Poland of course as well. On top of Goczałkowice, the BVB Evonik Football Academy was also present in Warschau, Iława, and Kamionki, and even received a very special visit.
The summer camp participants were also busy in Austria and Liechtenstein.
Training also continued next to the world's most beautiful stadium too of course. For almost seven weeks, more than 700 children trained like pros.
Whether in the sun or rain, training and fun were the priority every week. Our coaches didn't just teach the children about the fundamentals of sport and football, such as receiving the ball, passing, shooting, dribbling, and goalkeeping, but also social skills.
Insight
Furthermore, the school project with the IKK kicked off, the KidsClub summer tournament at the academy's grounds took place in perfect weather, we received a visit from the Lion City Sailors (our new partner in Singapore), and we were able to present the eAcademy as the new digital pillar of the Football Academy.
On the other side of the world, Niklas Flechsig started working at the German school in Japan and settled in well at his new home.
A very special event was also celebrated at the Football Academy in August! For the first time, a BVB women's game was played at the Football Academy.
And that's still not everything! Because in addition to Dortmund, holiday camps took place in another 15 places throughout Germany. 1360 children that didn't have the chance to come to Dortmund during the holidays were able to spend their holiday with the Black & Yellow's Vollgasgeber (full-throttle) programme.
September 2021
After summer comes autumn! With joyful anticipation of the next holiday, things quietened down a bit at the BVB Evonik Football Academy.
The matchday courses could finally start again and the Talent Day held in Brilon and Münster was also a great success.
After a long wait, and 18 months without physical contact, we were finally able to welcome visitors from the USA again. Nine "Directors or Coaching" from the International Academy, official partner of the BVB Evonik Football Academy in the USA, were able to spend some very exciting and instructive days in Dortmund with a diverse programme.
October 2021
Another holiday again already? Time flies and the autumn holidays were just around the corner. You know what this finally meant: full-throttle football again!
In very mixed weather, almost 200 children were once again able to spend their holidays under the black and yellow banner.
Even though the rain chased us off the pitch sometimes, both weeks were very successful.
November 2021
Now that the last holiday courses were over, the year was slowly drawing to an end. But courses are still being held regularly at the Football Academy. At the end of the year, our staff member Benny and BVB legend Jörg Heinrich will set off on their way to South Korea.
Markus P. and Florian also left Dortmund for a short amount of time to travel to Egypt for the first time to meet our partner Zed FC. In addition to Markus and Florian, four other BVB coaches were also there.
2022 is just around the corner, so you know what that means: new courses and offers from the BVB Evonik Football Academy! Our new course offers are online and they're perfect Christmas presents, so you better check them out quickly!
December 2021
December is all about "Borussia lights up!" The BVB Evonik Football Academy is also hiding behind one or two of the doors in BVB's big advent calendar. Let us surprise you, and with a little luck, you might even be able to win something.
Looking forward, we're also looking forward to the matchday course against Greuther Fürth next week with EA Sports and the Nordstadtliga as part of BVB's Christmas campaign.