At the weekend, football was not only rolling in the stadiums, but also in the sports hall of the BRG Solar City in Linz. However, very special footballers were active there. At the second indoor tournament of ASKÖ Ebelsberg, the disabled sports club BBRZ Linz and the OÖ. Disabled Sports Association, mentally handicapped people were the “stars” who were cheered on the floor.
More than 120 enthusiastic athletes in ten teams scored a total of 148 goals in 27 games and 360 minutes of play. In the end, the teams from FK Austria Wien emerged victorious in both the “Champions League competition” and the “Europa League competition”. But in the end all participants were winners because they surprised the spectators with their commitment and their sporting achievements and touched them with their humanity and solidarity, as Mario Weindl from ASKÖ Ebelsberg sums up.
And Marcel Bramberger adds that the social aspect of the sporting event has top priority. “The tournament primarily serves to further strengthen cohesion and inclusion.” Incidentally, the tournament is the only one in this form in Upper Austria.
New edition 2024 fixed
After the premiere in 2019, we had to wait three years for the second edition of the indoor cup for people with disabilities. The pandemic had also slowed down this sporting idea. But the committed people couldn’t be slowed down, and so the tournament at the weekend featured prominent players. In addition to teams from the professional clubs Austria Vienna, Blau-Weiss Linz and GAK, a club from Germany, BWB Berlin, also made guest appearances in Linz. St. Pölten and Vienna had to cancel at short notice due to illness. The game community from BBRZ and ASKÖ Ebelsberg was active with two teams. One thing was certain after the tournament: there will be a new edition in 2024.
Source: Nachrichten
