History of FC Internationale Berlin

Experienced Berliners football players founded FC Internationale Berlin in 1980. The goal was to play good football and have fun without the player get any money for it. The name founded resistance from the Berlin Football Association but was approved at the end. The Club started with 2 men teams and 2 youngster teams, but already in 1981, they created the first women team.

On the Easter week they celebrated the legendary Tournament for the Peace, en which ones the winners received, instead of a trophy, a reissue from the Picasso paint “Guernica”. They made campaign against the shortcuts in the labor market and, after the racist incidents in the decade of the 90s, “NO RACISM” it would appear on the kits.

On the sports side, the things improved quickly. Great help on that was the first female coach in Landesliga, Mirjana Kovacev. The Club has been 10 years on Landesliga, with ups and downs. Today we play with 2 teams there. The academy was founded on our first years by the great football player Peter Bartsch. As teacher he was always worried with his students that the Club had enough players. The work with the Academy it was consolidated on the 90s. the Academy keep growing to become the biggest of Schöneberg. Already then, we had problems with the number of pitches.

Sebastian Brandstätter was the main responsible of create and grow the girls Academy. On 2006 the team U-12 of the girls (D-Mädchen) were proclaimed Champions of the league and Cup of Berlin, achieving that way, the biggest success of the Club at that moment. The Academy has grown progressively. By the middle of the 2000 has grown to have more than 30 teams.

On that side the boys didn’t stay behind. On 2009, the U12 (D1) was the first team on been promoted to the league of Berlin, the U-17 (B1) followed shortly after. On the middle of the 2000 they were players of more than 35 different nationalities. On the year 2007 the Club it became a point of integration and got different prizes because of our commitment and work with the Academy.

The sporting success was growing nonstop. At the end of the 2010s the youngsters of the Club in every category played the league of Berlin. The number of members grow to more than 1200. Now every category of the Club was complete, from the smallest to the over 60. On the summer 2012 the women team was promoted to Landesliga, and then in 2016 to Berlin league. In 2017 the men team were promoted to the Berlin League. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay on the division, despite that until the last 8 minutes of the last game we were staying on the league. Things of football.

Not less important, a lot of our academy players had success. Even some of them got to play Bundesliga, 3 had become professionals. In August of 2012 it was inaugurated a new sport facility. The members of the club decided to name it Inter-Arena. The new facility was slowly filling with life. With trainings, team building events, preventive talks, small meetings, and coaches training.

Tolerance, Fair play, teamwork, and solidarity – we can share that even better. The most important prize now has been the Integration Prize from the DFB in 2012. In 2017 we received the DFB Reinhard Grindel.

The Club has been with most of their teams in Berlin League. Just the first men team is still playing Landesliga. They have been third, fourth and two years ago fifth. We have 2 recreative teams too (Akazie and Casino). On women there is 3 teams and one recreational team. 

The number of members has increased to 1350. A lot of players have been together for a long time, the work and patience have given fruits. The club have members of more than 70 nationalities, including Erasmus students but also a lot of refugees. The name is program and commitment. All must have the chance to practice sport.

The clear posture against racism and the opportunity of participating has been for a lot relevant. The media informed of the work of the Club. In the meantime, almost 30 coaches have the DFB license. We don’t want to forget the referee’s department, that has been boosted by the delegate Ibo Yilmaz. More than 25 referees between 13 and 67 arbitrate for our Club.

The FC Internationale is in constant development. In addition, we have some cooperation with schools, the Südkreuz network, workshops for people with disabilities of Berlin and with the network of football and society of Berlin, of the one that we are cofounder. We receive a lot of invitations to meetings and interviews; the activists are requested interlocutors. The new president of the DFB. Brend Neuendorf, has visited the Club to interchange ideas. 

An important theme is sustainability. In the 2020 we started a groupwork integrated by Saskia Halfenberg, Anton Klischewski, Oliver Brendle, Lore Zafisambondaoky, Peter Diehl, and Wolfgang Abitz. Together they managed to achieve the TÜV Rheinland certification. The lockdown was helpful, because were no trainings and matches, so they could meet weekly by videoconference. The prize was the first sustainability certification that an Amateur club has ever received.

We hired a sustainability manager, as well as a digital manager for the digitalization of the club. In 2023 we turn to a youth welfare agency; we join to the Transparent Civil Society Initiative, and we received the “Efficient Seal” of Phineo. The commitment has been well rewarded.

In Sports, the best is yet to come. After the team of the Over 60 were crowned Champions of Berlin, they won 2 times more the cup. But the crowning is still not yet there. In June 2023 they won the Northeast Championship and in April of 2024 they will travel to fight for the German Championship in Düsseldorf, against teams like Bayern Munich. 

The Club of the future

For 2024 we will launch the Interaction Foundation gGmbH, planned before the pandemic, the goal is to implement project, participate on sport debates and create models for the future. At the same time, we can’t forget about the sport ambitions. Fc Internationale wants to counterattack this with a solid structure and innovative ideas. The goal still is to have teams in all the highest divisions in Berlin. The managers are happy to count with more committed people in the club like: trainers, kitmen, administration, social support, sustainability team, between others.

The Club wants and will continue always to promote football and a healthy, supportive and with a high social commitment community. Promise! Anyone who wants to support FC Internationale as a partner or sponsor is warmly welcome.