Die 56 — The first two months of the season

How will we cover the opening weeks of the 25/26 Bundesliga season

‘Die 56’ needs your support.

We’ve raised 33% of our goal on Kickstarter.

Come and pledge your support. For more in-depth coverage of German football. For fascinating fan stories. For the greatest journalistic endeavour of the 21st Century: ranking the relative merits of bratwurst across the breadth of this sausage-obsessed land.

At time of writing, we are halfway through our Kickstarter campaign. We’ve raised almost €4,000. I’m honestly gobsmacked we’ve got this far, thanks to everyone that has pledged their support.

I thought it might be useful to share my plans for the first two weeks of the season, should we raise the capital.

Conversations with clubs in the Northeast of the country have started in earnest.

The idea is to cross off the cities and towns within a two-hour train radius of Berlin. Those first two months of the season will act as a proof of concept, and reduce some of the burden of organisation as we get into the swing of the work.

The clubs on our hit list are:

• HSV

• FC St. Pauli

• RB Leipzig

• Union Berlin

• Wolfsburg

• Dynamo Dresden

• Hertha Berlin

• Magdeburg

• FC Erzgebirge Aue

• Energie Cottbus

• Hansa Rostock

Obviously, we’ve covered some of these clubs before. We spoke with Millerntor legend Sven Brux about his merry band of punks and their seminal fanzine; we’ve taken a bleak mid-winter trip to Wolfsburg and wiled an afternoon away on the coast in Rostock; obviously, we can’t get enough of Union Berlin.

Some of these stories write themselves. As soon as HSV secured their path back to the Bundesliga after seven years in the second tier, I began writing the intro to my piece in my head.

But I need your input. If you’re a fan of one of these clubs, let me know the most pressing goings on as we head into the 25/26 season. That can be within the club, on the terraces, or even in the wider community.

For example, a brief foray into the Union Berlin subreddit revealed the fans are energised by the amazing strides made their women’s team. I can’t help but mirror their excitement. I was at the Alte Föresterei for their final game of the season, along with 20,000 other Unioner. Seeing the gleeful look on the faces of so many young women and girls as Lisa Heiseler lift the 2. Bundesliga crown was a beautiful moment. While I will be watching the men’s game, I’m open to covering women’s and youth football, too. As always, the aim of this newsletter is first and foremost the culture of the German game.

I’m also looking for tips on places to see on my travels, the songs I need to learn to fit in with the locals, the bars I need to hit for authentic matchday experiences.