That was the 13th I-CUP!

That was the 13th I-CUP!

The I-Cup is something special because it carries its idea in its very name: inclusion. This year, the I-Cup went into its 13th round. Together with numerous cooperation partners, SV Werder Bremen organises the inclusive football tournament every year, which is open to everyone. This means that no one is excluded from participating on the basis of their prerequisites. Primarily inclusive teams from Bremen and the surrounding area are invited.

There was a lot of action on the grounds of the Pauliner Marsch sports garden last Saturday. Once again, numerous youth and adult teams registered for this year’s I-Cup. After a short ceremonial welcome, the tournament started directly into the first round. Together they cheered, scored numerous goals, dribbled out opponents and, above all, enjoyed the good times together!

The tournament mode
The tournament schedule provided for the youth teams (up to 18 years) to play off their winners against each other in the morning, followed by the adult teams at noon. However, there was a special feature for the youth teams: the youngsters played against each other in a first and a second round. Each match was played for ten minutes. As a reward for their strong performance, the best three teams in each age group received a cup and all participants also received a football sponsored by the AOK. The tournament winners also won a voucher for a stadium visit to the SV Werder Bremen match against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on 7 July.

Fair play and a visit from Cologne – Impressions from the sidelines
Despite the high temperatures on Saturday with around 30 degrees and bright sunshine, all participants had a lot of fun! Even a defeat could not dampen the teams’ spirits. In addition to sport and fun, fair play is the main focus of the I-Cup. The organisers therefore established a special method to actively promote the idea of fair play: After each match, the teams “rated” how they perceived the opposing players in terms of fair play. These “ratings” were then added up and the team with the best fair play rating received an additional award.

While usually primarily inclusive teams from Bremen and the surrounding area take part in the I-Cup, this year there was even a visit from an inclusive team from Cologne, which came all the way to Bremen just for the I-Cup. The physical well-being of the participants was taken care of with enough cool drinks and a barbecue buffet.

The CSR work of SV Werder Bremen is implemented with the support of our CSR partners. They have been sponsoring projects and programmes for years and thus make a valuable contribution to the implementation of the social and societal commitment of the Green-Whites.