COVID keeps us apart, and going back to the stadiums has become difficult. But there’s a tool which can overcome even bigger distances or hurdles: an online fan meeting!
In this special period, it’s nice to be reunited because of football. And that’s exactly what happened for the match between 1.FC Köln and Borussia Dortmund… or we should say, for the pre-match.
The protagonists
In fact, we helped arranged an online fan meeting to talk about the match, feel a sense of sharing this event, and bridge the gap between Germany and Japan. To do such an event, we collaborated with:
- 1.FC Köln and Borussia Dortmund, the two clubs whose Japanese accounts are managed by Ganassa.
- Bundesliga, the German league, whose Japanese account has been run by Ganassa.
- SkyPerfectTV, the official provider of Bundesliga TV rights in Japan.
From this shared effort, the online fan meeting for the pre-match was the ultimate aim. Deadline on March 20th, when the game was supposed to take place according to DFL’s official calendars. To add even further value to this moment of sharing, more people were involved.
Legends, fans and much more
Two legends – one for each club – took part in the event. On one side, for BVB, Karl-Heinz Riedle, the man who decided the UCL final in 1997, when Dortmund lifted the trophy. On the other one, Alexander Bade, a former goalkeeper who played for Köln in two separate stints for a decade.
The icing on the cake? Well-renowned comedian Yuta Maeda hosted the event. A way to boost the harmony and the joyfulness of this fan meeting.
Both accounts ran separate forms to gather as many participants as possible. In the end, it was a nice way to talk about football, get closer to the clubs and enjoy the pre-match together.
A video extract of the meeting on Sponavi gathered over 800k views. A move that boosted the range of this event after it was finished. The match ended 1-1, but all fans won in terms of sharing this wonderful moment.