It’s been over a week since VfB’s trip to the USA – how do you sum up the tour?
Rouven Kasper: “We had a couple of specific demands with this tour. It was supposed to contribute towards team-building, shorten the winter break with a memorable experience, contribute towards the Bundesliga’s internationalisation goals, produce great content and establish VfB as a whole in one of our defined target markets. These requirements were met completely and everyone involved did a really good job. The fact that we were able to travel everywhere with our own VfB-branded buses and vans, thanks to our partner Mercedes-Benz, was one of many successful features. We met a lot of exciting people and left with the impression that everyone we met would be happy if we went back. It couldn’t have been any better.”
One word: sustainability. Does it fit in with the times for VfB to be travelling across the Atlantic with a football team for a friendly against 1. FC Köln?
Kasper: “Yes. Sustainability consists of three pillars: ecology, economy and social issues. As a company, you need to weigh these up and reconcile them with one another as much as possible. Ecologically, you need to scrutinise every flight you take. We’ve taken this into account by flying commercially and voluntarily offsetting those flights in close partnership with NABU Deutschland (Germany’s Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union). The tour is all the more suited to the other two pillars: Our efforts on the internationalisation front not only strengthen our economic foundation but that of the Bundesliga as a whole. And as far as social and cultural aspects are concerned, meeting people, speaking with one another, getting to know each other and broadening your own horizons are of huge importance.”
But for a trip to be sustainable, it mustn’t be a one-off affair.
Kasper: “Absolutely. I’m convinced that clubs in certain countries need very specific anchors from which lasting relationships develop. Austin is an interesting location for soccer and a city on the rise. We’re not going to sever ties with our contacts there. As an example, we’re planning further VfB football school camps over there in March 2023.”
What events from your US tour will stick with you the most?
Kasper: “I’ll name three. Firstly our game in Austin, because thanks to our team we were able to place VfB and the Bundesliga firmly in the spotlight. Secondly our day in Houston, where we met company representatives from the region in the morning, had very interesting talks with the hierarchy of the Houston Texans NFL side and then spent one last evening with VfB partners and employees. And thirdly, the evening we had in the garden of the German-Texan Heritage Society, because that was an all-round success involving Germans, Americans and German-Americans that showed us how welcome we were there. The deputy mayor’s official proclamation of 17 November 2022 as ‘VfB Stuttgart fan day’ is really special.”
