In the morning, dark clouds still hung in the sky over the Müngersdorf stadium, but fortunately the players and the "holy green" only received a few drops of rain at this year's Come-Together-Cup. Just like last year, the organisers were once again able to record a record number of visitors. Top sporting performances and a varied supporting programme made the CTC 2025 a true festival of diversity.
Almost 24,000 visitors came to the 31st Come-Together Cup on Ascension Day in the RheinEnergie Stadium's stadium forecourt to watch the thrilling matches between around 1,300 amateur players and enjoy a colourful eight-hour stage programme. A total of 96 amateur teams took part in the women's, men's, mixed and inclusion tournaments and competed for the so-called "Fun Cups" in various categories. On the pitch, there was no denying that everyone was playing for a common cause: a clear signal in favour of an inclusive society and the unifying power of sport.
As REWE Group, we have been supporting the Come Together Cup since 2014 and were once again involved in a wide range of activities this year. In cooperation with the internal LGBTIQ network DITO, two teams were once again entered in the tournament: In a mixed and a men's team of the "REWE Group DITO-Kickers", a total of 26 colleagues:innen from REWE, toom, PENNY, REWE digital, DERTOUR, REWE Group Buying and the Cologne headquarters gave their best. Despite the greatest sporting endeavour, the men's team was unfortunately unable to win, while the mixed team achieved fourth place in the group phase after two wins and three defeats.
Another highlight was once again the celebrity fun kick: alongside Cologne personalities such as Dominik Schönenborn from Cat Ballou, Marcella Rockefeller, Tugba Tekkal, Shary Reeves, Niko Kappel and FC Vice President Carsten Wettich, our CEO Lionel Souque once again gave his all on the ball with his team "Latente Talente". In the end, the match ended in a 5:5 draw and was highly entertaining thanks to the sporting endeavour and the commentary by travesty artist Julie Voyage.
Lionel Souque on our involvement in the Come-Together Cup: "Diversity makes companies stronger, makes teams stronger. Diversity creates more resilience, gives room to different opinions, creates much more creativity. I am proud that we at REWE Group have been supporting this great tournament for eleven years now."
In addition to the footballing impressions, there was also plenty of programme and entertainment off the pitch. Around 50 exhibitors presented themselves on the "Boulevard of Diversity" and the artists Pelemele, Marcella Rockefeller, Tanzorchester Paschulke, Julie Voyage, Deborah Woodson and Brings provided entertainment.
In addition, the DITO colleagues were on site with their own wine stand in aid of Aidshilfe Köln and anyway e.V.. The REWE food truck also provided the players and visitors with free healthy snacks and smoothies on this great day to celebrate diversity. We were also there with the REWE Bonus Fan Box as an interactive fan meeting point, including a photo campaign with direct printing, table football and other mini-games.
Visitors were also able to find out about the diversity of disabled sports and try them out for themselves at the inclusion mobile organised by REWE, Aktion Mensch and the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS): goal wall shooting with simulated glasses, walking with prosthetic shoes and wheelchair basketball. The aim of the hands-on mobile is to support clubs and schools in creating inclusive sports programmes and thus actively promoting the social participation of people with disabilities.
