Bocholt confirm home match at Hünting, Straelen bring in two new players

News from the Regionalliga West: 1. FC Bocholt’s match against Fortuna Köln will be played at the Gigaset Arena am Hünting. Meanwhile, league rival SV Straelen has signed two new players.

The regional league match between 1. FC Bocholt and Fortuna Köln will take place at the Gigaset Arena on 17 December (Saturday, 2 pm).

The city of Bocholt and the police gave the final go-ahead on Friday for the staging of this 8th matchday make-up game at the Hünting.

“Appropriate deconstruction and security measures within the guest area, which is currently under construction, are necessary for this. As a result, the capacity for guest fans will be reduced from 600 to 150 for this match, the total capacity will then be 2326 spectators,” informs 1. FC Bocholt.

Previously, Bocholt had to cancel the home match for this weekend – Saturday, 10 December 2022 – against leaders Preußen Münster.

SV Straelen: Two new Japanese players coming

SV Straelen remains true to its passion with Japanese footballers and signed 27-year-old Takumi Yanagisawa.

Yanagisawa is a Japanese-trained attacking player who was a cornerstone in 1. FC Bocholt’s promotion from the Oberliga Niederrhein to the Regionalliga West. “Unfortunately, he picked up an injury and was unable to fulfil his goal of playing in the Regionalliga West after his great performance in the Oberliga. Takumi is now fit as a fiddle again and after a two-week trial training with the 1st team squad, he was able to convince all those responsible of his quality as a player and his good character. Takumi speaks and understands the German language well and is very much looking forward to his time at SV Straelen,” said the SV Straelen officials.

At the same time, the Japanese talent Kohei Nakano joins SV Straelen from the youth academy of the Japanese first division club Cerezo Osaka. The 19-year-old Kohei can be used in many positions in midfield. “He is to be introduced to German men’s football via training with the 1st team and games with the 2nd team, until the summer,” reads the official statement from the Regionalliga West table-toppers.