BORK, Germany (Reuters) – On a soccer pitch in the northwestern German town of Bork, players in the ‘Heavy Kickers’ club have been training for the third round of matches in the newly-established German football league for overweight people.
Last year, six clubs from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in Germany launched the Overweight Football League (UEFL) that had its first match played in April.
“Everyone should play,” club founder and manager Mike Kraus said, adding that slower soccer players should be able to compete and not get stuck on the bench.
To join ‘Heavy Kickers’, players must have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 31.
UEFL matches are played with seven field players and a goalkeeper, and a single match consists of two halves of 35 minutes each.
“It’s better than sitting at home with a bag of chips, I’d rather be on the pitch – with people I have fun with,” said Kraus, adding that creating a community was more important than strict rules on player’s weight.
“We have a special rule that a maximum of two people who are no longer overweight are allowed to play in the game,” he says.
For now, the Overweight Football League has only brought together clubs from one German region, but Kraus hopes that the idea will spread across the country.
“We hope it will be carried further, that it will be seen, that this idea will be taken up elsewhere. That is our wish,” he said.
(Reporting by Erol Dogrudogan, Andi Kranz, Daria Shamonova; Writing by Bartosz Dabrowski in Gdansk)
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