Twenty-eight children and young people between the ages of nine and 16 who have survived cancer took part in the camp. All participants were accompanied by a "buddy" – meaning a sibling or a friend. The DFB Foundation Egidius Braun covered all costs for accommodation, meals and the social program.
The program was diverse and went far beyond soccer. "I particularly enjoyed the outdoor camp," says Felix. "I thought the canoe tour was great," says Max. Cooking together and the excursions to the Hamburger SV stadium or Sea Life on Timmendorfer Strand also went down well. The participants experienced a special afternoon on Monday: DFB treasurer Stephan Grunwald came to visit. The 38-year-old, who is also responsible for the foundation's finances, spoke to the children and young people about his job, his career, important values and - of course - about soccer. "It is a great pleasure for us to have you as our guests here. We hope that we can bring you joy with this soccer vacation retreat and that you can draw additional courage and new strength from the days," Grunwald emphasized.
The soccer vacation camps have been taking place for 30 years. This year's 18 one-week offerings host 75 soccer clubs that are remarkably committed to girls' soccer. The free participation is thanks and recognition for the voluntary commitment in the clubs. The leisure time for children and young people with tumors is an additional offer, which was carried out for the first time together with the KiTZ, the ActiveOncoKids network and the German Childhood Cancer Foundation.
