FIRST TEAM
03/18/2020

TSG Hoffenheim establish relief fund

The Coronavirus is having a massive impact on all levels of society. Everyday life is increasingly defined by restriction. Important medical institutions, as well as companies and sports clubs, are already feeling the effects of the pandemic, which many experts believe has not yet reached its peak. Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim is setting up a "Corona relief fund'' with the aim of supporting both establishments whose activities are directly related to the regular operation of the Bundesliga as well as important institutions and sports clubs in the Rhine-Neckar region.

''We are very strongly-rooted in our region and we feel a high degree of responsibility for the people who live here,'' said TSG managing director Dr. Peter Görlich as he discussed the diverse socio-political activities in which the club is engaged in as part of its strategy for the future ''TSG is movement.'' ''The world of professional football is in a privileged position, and in the current unprecedented crisis in which we find ourselves, we feel it is our duty to show solidarity and take action,'' said fellow managing director Frank Briel. With this in mind, the club has decided to establish a relief fund.  

Funding will partly be provided by TSG Hoffenheim, while the club's majority shareholder, Dietmar Hopp, will also make a sizeable contribution. "It is a matter of course for me to help people who suddenly find themselves in a difficult situation and whose existence is threatened," says Hopp, who will draw the funding from his private assets. "Ever since the club first rose to professional status, we have always made it clear that we belong to the entire region. Now is the time to show this in a more significant way," said Hopp.

''Of course we, the players, will play our part in supporting this fantastic gesture of solidarity,'' said club captain Benjamin Hübner.

"Although the current crisis represents an unprecedented challenge for us as a football club, we also want to do all we can to help those who are in greater need," said Briel, who, together with his colleagues from the board of management, will set a clear set of criteria for the provision of support. Partners and sponsors will also have the opportunity to contribute to the fund and thus help provide rapid and targeted assistance. In addition to financial resources, the club's staff and playing squads will also offer various support services.

In addition, TSG Hoffenheim is preparing a "campaign game day," the proceeds of which will primarily benefit the institutions that are doing such incredible work in this most alarming of situations. "Doctors, nurses and many other professional groups are going beyond their limits to help us all. We want to pay them our respect and give them our support," said Görlich.

TSG Hoffenheim will publish details of the "campaign match day" and the arrangements for the relief fund as soon as it becomes clear when normal matchday operations can resume and the impacts of the pandemic can be assessed more accurately.

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