German Football Ambassador association visits Germany Festival in Tokyo
Gert Engels, Award Winner 2018, presents his prize money to the GenKids project
Germany goes Japan: The German Football Ambassador 2018 lives and works in Japan and has had a close relationship with the Asian country for more than 20 years: We are talking about Gert Engels. As a football coach, he accompanied various clubs and was most recently active with Vissel Kobe, the football club for which Lukas Podolski, another ambassador of German football, plays for. Engels also spends a good portion of his private life in Japan every year and promotes sporting and cultural exchange with his football school.
“I HAVE SAID OVER AND OVER AGAIN: TOKYO AND JAPAN ARE CLOSER TO ME THAN HAMBURG!”
Engels also shows his close connection to Japan by donating his prize money to the social project »Genkids«, which especially cares for children and families from the disaster area of Fukushima.
Within the framework of the German Festival, organized by the German Embassy in Tokyo, Gert Engels met with the founder of »Genkids«, xxxx xxxxx, as well as the President of the German Football Ambassador association, Roland Bischof, for the ceremonial handover.
Roland Bischof, who came from Germany especially for the ceremony: » It is unbelievable with which commitment and passion Gert lives for soccer and promotes the social exchange between the two countries. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank in advance the German Embassy, the AHK and the German-Japanese Business Exchange for their support. «
GERMAN-JAPANESE FRIENDSHIP AND FOOTBALL
Dr. Klaus Vietze, Ambassador of the German Embassy in Tokyo: »Germany and Japan are friendly states and football is very important for this friendship. Gert Engels has written a German-Japanese football history and is thus in line with Osieck, Buchwald or Littbarski. I am very happy to be able to welcome him as a football ambassador at the German festival Aoyama.«
After the legendary Dettmar Cramer (Honorary Award 2013), Gert Engels is already the second prize winner with a strong reference to Japan and adds: » I am delighted that this award will enable me to play my part in sustainably supporting the GenKids project. The project is dear to my heart «
All participants were enthusiastic about the exchange between Japanese and German people at the Deutschlandfest in Tokyo – an all-round successful event!
Deutschlandfest Tokyo 2018
The Deutschlandfest is an annual event that will be held for the first time in 2011 as part of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Germany. The meeting was held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of German-Japanese diplomatic relations. It is the only open-air event organized by the German Embassy in Tokyo to bring German culture in all its diversity to the general public in Japan. In its eighth year, the festival has become an integral part of Tokyo’s culture, attracting up to 32,000 people of all ages. The event will again be organized in cooperation with a local organizing team consisting of Elfen Ltd., Meiji Shoko and T’s Factory and will take place from November 1st to 4th at Aoyama Park in Tokyo.
GERMAN FOOTBALL AMBASSADOR
The German Football Ambassador association based in Berlin, was founded in 2011 by Roland Bischof and honors German coaches and players who contribute to the positive image of Germany through their appearance and commitment. The awards are combined with prize money for social projects. From Nepal to Namibia: Since 2013 the association has supported more than 25 projects worldwide. Numerous prize winners, football personalities and institutions accompany the further development of the idea. These include the Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe Institute, the Kicker, Jürgen Klinsmann, Gernot Rohr, Monika Staab and Uwe Seeler. In addition, Dietmar Hopp, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Prof. Dr. Matthias Prinz, among others, are on the advisory board.
