The Essen Indoor City Championship also starts this weekend. The co-organizers are very much looking forward to the excitement.

The 28th edition of the Essen Indoor City Championship starts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 6, 2024. This time there is a new twist: the Oberliga and Landesliga teams do not have to struggle through the qualifiers, they are automatically qualified for the intermediate round.

“There was no other way. We are doing this because of the limited hall time available to us for organizational reasons. Otherwise, there would have been just too many games, which we would no longer have been able to schedule,” explains Günther Oberholz, who organizes the Essen Indoor City Championship together with Bernd Müller, Michael Bierbüsse and Wilfried Tönneßen.

Oberholz and Co. are pleased that the Essen amateur football scene is once again meeting at the beginning of the year in the sports hall at Hallo in Stoppenberg. “This get-together is always nice. And at the Sportpark am Hallo, you also have the opportunity to sit down and exchange ideas in peace. In Bergeborbeck, the atmosphere was heated, but you always had to think twice about getting up and giving up your seat (laughs). The solution of playing all the games at the Hallo is perfect,” says Oberholz.

For the final weekend – January 20 and 21, 2024 – of the 28th Essen Indoor City Championship, Budenzauber expert Oberholz expects the usual suspects, but also has two secret favorites on his list.

“Of course, you have to mention Spielvereinigung Schonnebeck here in the front line. They already have a strong team together and actually always do well. But ETB, who didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory last year, also deserve a mention as a fifth division team. The same goes for Adler Union Frintrop. And, of course, the regional league teams are always in with a shout, and the same goes for the district league teams like Katernberg or Burgaltendorf,” says Oberholz, naming his favorites.

He adds: “But I would also like to mention teams like A-league Fatihspor or B-league Rot-Weiss Essen II. Stefan Lorenz is an absolute indoor fan and will have a lot planned. And: these teams always have five or six good players. We are looking forward to an exciting and fair tournament in a great family atmosphere.”