First Jewish Soccer Team to Compete In German Cup: ‘Extremely Proud,’ Team’s Founder Says

Makkabi Berlin will take on top-tier team Wolfsburg in a televised game at Berlin’s Mommsenstadion stadium on Sunday

On Sunday, a Jewish team founded by Holocaust survivors will play for the first time ever in the German Cup.

Makkabi Berlin, an underdog from the fifth tier, will face off against top-ranked Wolfsburg in a televised game at Berlin’s Mommsenstadion stadium in the prestigious tournament, which features 64 of the country’s best professional and amateur teams, according to the Associated Press.

“I’ve been there from the first day,” team co-founder Marian Wajselfisz told the AP. “I never imagined that we — as a Jewish team — would ever be playing a cup game against a Bundesliga [top-tier] team. So for us, and for me personally, it’s a huge joy.”

Makkabi qualified for this year’s tournament by winning the Berlin Cup in June, per the AP. 

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But the road to the German Cup was not a straight line for the team, which was founded in 1970. 

Its predecessor, Bar Kochba Berlin, was founded in 1898 and had more than 40,000 members before it —  and other Jewish organizations — were banned in 1938, the AP reports.

For Wajselfisz, whose family survived the Holocaust thanks to a Polish couple who hid them in their cellar for two years, Sunday is a long time coming.

“I have many German friends, Christian friends. I never speak about it. Perhaps his father or grandfather was in the SS, for me everything is open,” he told the AP. “It was 80 years ago. It’s past. Now, we try to be accepted as Jews.”

Ciaran Fahey/AP 

However, the team, which features a Star of David on its crest, is also accepting of those who are not of the Jewish faith, welcoming Muslims and Christians onto its roster.

As game day approaches, all eyes will be on the historic match. When the German Cup started in 1935, Jews were prohibited, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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“The popularity, visibility, and success of Jewish sports clubs symbolizes the growth of established Jewish life in Germany and the world,” the World Jewish Congress said, per the AP.

However, for Makkabi’s Senegalese defender Papa Alpha Diop, who is Muslim, all that really matters is the game itself.

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“It doesn’t matter about religion, or what you are. It’s not important,” he told the outlet. “The only important thing is that you like to come and play football.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education