Allianz supports young athletes
Allianz Junior Football Camp – a true success story!
A total of 192 young people aged between 14 and 16 years old have attended Allianz Junior Football Camps since 2009, creating a legacy of worldwide contacts and international friendships. The popularity of the Football Camp has grown over the years. In 2009, Allianz organized the first international football camp in Munich with 34 young teenagers from 9 different countries. One year later, 43 participants from 10 countries came to Germany. In 2011 the success story continued with even more participating countries (16) and teenagers (52). This year, the fourth annual Camp, saw 21 countries send 63 teenagers – a new attendance record!
Thanks to Allianz’s longstanding partnership with FC Bayern Munich, participants of the camp are able to experience the daily life of their football heroes at the Bayern training ground on Säbener Straße first hand. A very special program awaits them in Munich: training with FC Bayern youth coaches, a special tour of the Allianz Arena and a look behind the scenes of FC Bayern Munich. In 2012, the participants were also able to visit the new FC Bayern Munich museum and they returned to the Allianz Arena to watch their heroes play against VFB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. And, as a particular highlight, the participants were able to meet and receive autographs from their favorite players, including new Spanish signing, Javier Martinez, along with FC Bayern München captain Phillip Lahm and players Bastian Schweinsteiger, Manuel Neuer and Diego Contento.
At the same time the youths have the unique opportunity to establish contact with football fans from all around the world. No matter whether they come from - there are 21 countries involved this year, from Indonesia to Spain, Brazil to Saudi Arabia - all the young people have one thing in common: their passion for football. Christian Deuringer, Head of Global Brand Management at Allianz SE, is keen to emphasize the training camp’s role as an international meeting place: “The Allianz Junior Football Camp gives the young people an opportunity to come together and exchange ideas and experiences in a manner that transcends national and continental borders. This means that the camp not only allows them to gain unique football experiences, but also enables us to make a key contribution to mutual respect between different cultures.“
And even after the training camp comes to an end, these international exchanges can be continued on the ‘Football for life’ portal (www.football-for-life.com). All the photos, videos and reports of the camp participants' experiences are available both on this website and to the associated Facebook community (https://www.facebook.com/AllianzFootballforlife).