With Annike Krahn, the VfL women’s soccer team will soon have a new manager. Progress is also being made with sponsorship.
VfL Bochum is also pushing ahead with the development of its women’s and girls’ department. After former national team player Annike Krahn was introduced as the department’s sporting director, the news now follows that the first women’s team will be playing with a new sleeve sponsor in the first competitive match of the new year in the Regionalliga West, away at FSV Gütersloh II.
The Bundesliga club has announced that the musical Starlight Express will be featured on the team’s sleeves with immediate effect. The Bochum musical is performed just a few meters away from the Vonovia Ruhrstadion and is the most successful in the world with more than 18 million visitors.
VfL Bochum: Partnership to underline ambitions
VfL Bochum has continued to drive forward women’s soccer in recent months, creating new structures and expanding in this area, according to the press release. “The partnership with the new sleeve sponsor Starlight Express underlines these ambitions, together with the highly successful neighbor, VfL wants to drive forward the development of VfL women’s soccer.”
Tim Jost, VfL Director of Marketing and Sales, says of the new sleeve sponsor: “From our point of view, Starlight Express is the perfect partner, especially when it comes to the successful history that the Bochum musical has written. Our neighbors have been showing for several years what it means to inspire many people and be successful. We also want to follow this path with women’s soccer at VfL Bochum. We want to inspire many people in and around Bochum, provide access for everyone and make soccer as accessible as possible. We are very happy to have Starlight Express as a new sleeve sponsor on our jersey.”
Kaenzig: “Both are among the best in their industry”
Ilja Kaenzig, spokesman for the VfL management, adds: “This Bochum institution, which has been one of Bochum’s flagships for years, fits in with VfL and its values. VfL Bochum and Starlight Express are not only linked by their proximity and the current partnership, both are among the best in their field. We are delighted that we have been able to persuade Starlight Express to support our women’s team. We are sure that our fans will also welcome this partnership.”
Oliver Kockel, Sales Director of Starlight Express, is also very pleased about the partnership: “For the 30th anniversary of the show in June 2018, Starlight Express was adapted to the spirit of the times by Andrew Lloyd Webber and his creative team: The female characters have become “emancipated” and female features have also been starting in the fast-paced races ever since. We are also seeing this development in soccer. Equality and women’s power should be further promoted here and brought into the public eye.”