Players from a total of 14 different nations were the in the starting line-ups for Wednesday night’s DFB-Pokal semi-final between Schalke 04 and Eintracht Frankfurt. Before they played to find out FC Bayern München’s opponents in Berlin’s Olympiastadion for the final on 19th May, the two teams united in support of Germany’s bid to host UEFA EURO 2024.
The players from both sides stood together with the match officials and the ball boy behind a banner bearing the campaign slogan “United by Football - Vereint im Herzen Europas”. Schalke and Frankfurt also both showed their support on social media before the game, tweeting of their support for Germany’s bid.
#UnitedByFootball: Offer your support
Tuesday also saw the players of record cup winners Bayern München and their semi-final opponents Bayer Leverkusen make a statement in support of the campaign, with the starting line-ups also coming together for a picture featuring players from eight different nations. The joint team photo was tweeted by Bayern to over five million followers.
Anyone can follow the Bundesliga teams’ example on the bid’s official website (www.united-by-football.de). Simply upload your photo and share it on social media using the hashtag #UnitedByFootball to show your support for Germany’s EURO 2024 bid.
The DFB are aiming to host the UEFA European Championship for a second time after 1988, with 2014 World Cup winning captain Philipp Lahm the bid’s official ambassador. UEFA will select a host nation for the tournament in September 2018.