The area surrounding the Volkswagen Arena played host to a green and white party on Sunday as the annual VfL Family Festival attracted over 15,000 visitors – a 50% increase on last year. The VfL Kids Day alone was attended by over 1,000 children, who enjoyed a wide variety of interactive activities on Pitch A in front of the stadium.
Players take centre stage
The main highlight was the arrival of the men’s and women’s teams, who joined the crowd at 2pm. The players made their way from station to station, showing off their skills while stopping every now and then for photos and autographs. Maximilian Arnold even had a go at egg and spoon racing. “I actually only did two rounds because I was busy signing autographs and taking photos,” said the VfL captain, grinning from ear to ear. “It was great fun, but the competitiveness really gets hold of you. I dropped the egg at one point!”
“Our city”
In addition to food stalls, interactive stations and other activities, some of which were organised by fan clubs and partners, Sunday’s event also included interesting chats with the management of both VfL teams – Peter Christiansen, Michael Meeske, Dr. Tim Schumacher, Sebastian Schindzielorz and Ralph Hasenhüttl from the men’s team and Ralf Kellermann and Tommy Stroot from the women’s side. Both teams’ new arrivals were officially unveiled, with managing director for sport Cristiansen drawing particular applause with his opening remarks. “My first few weeks here have been really great,” he said. “There are a lot of nice people here and Wolfsburg is a lovely city – our city.” It felt like most of the city’s population passed through Sunday’s festival at some point, on a successful day all round for VfL.
