Dark clouds in the sky, but a great atmosphere on the pitch: Around 40,000 fans came to the pitch of the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday (5 August) for the season opener of 1 FC Köln. There they braved the changeable weather and queued for autographs from Davie Selke, Florian Kainz and coach Steffen Baumgart.

The fans were also offered a range of activities, from football darts and a surf simulator to football courses and climbing stations. REWE was there with a fan box, table football and soccer cages. The individual departments of the FC also introduced themselves, and mascot Hennes paid a visit to the forecourt.
In addition to Ben Randerath, Fiasko and Stadtrand, Björn Heuser provided the musical entertainment before the official team presentation in the stadium. Until kick-off, the Höhner provided a goosebump atmosphere with a live performance in the stadium, with the FC anthem as the absolute highlight.

The first test match for an FC season opener in over ten years was a complete success. the Billy Goats beat FC Nantes 2:0 in front of 30,000 spectators. So the Bundesliga season can begin on 18 August. On the first matchday, FC will be the guests of Dortmund. Cologne will play their first home game a week later against Wolfsburg. Before that, they travel to Osnabrück for the first round of the DFB Cup on 14 August.