2009 Award: Gommer Fussballmeisterschaft and Bergdorfmeisterschaft

Management GFM

We, over 500 young and 250 active footballers in a dozen clubs between Bitsch and Oberwald, pursue a common goal: to celebrate the beautiful game with dedication and a spirit of fun.

Around 250 football matches are played in the summer in three competitions (championship and cup). It is no wonder that football is an integral part of village life in Goms and in Östlich Raron. Young and old root for their team on the sidelines. In the local, the skilled and the less skilled yet all the more knowledgeable discuss the action from the game, their team and what might have been only for...

The enthusiasm for the games involving the junior teams is even greater. Coaches, parents and even grandparents stand on the sidelines in great numbers, cheering on the young football stars. In this small region, there are even teams with a higher proportion of girls than boys. This shows just how rooted football is in Goms and in Östlich Raron.

Some 10,000 spectators make their way to the sidelines in the course of a season. No other event mobilises so many people in this region on a regular basis.

Football is a way of life in this small but mighty community. FIFA President Sepp Blatter commented on the GFM: “It is football in its purest form. This is how football should also work in other places!”

That football works this way is not without reason – namely the broad support! We also experienced this support from the Sepp Blatter Foundation. Back in 2009, the foundation presented the Gommer Fussballmeisterschaft with a generous award, which we accepted with pride and sincere gratitude. This award shows us that football – from the regional to the international league – is of great importance to Sepp Blatter and FIFA. Thank you very much for this social commitment and this very generous donation. 

Management GFM

President of the BDM

We were very surprised when we were nominated by the Sepp Blatter Foundation as an award winner in 2009.

Being a recipient of the Sepp Blatter Foundation award fills us with great pride and demonstrates the foundation’s social and humanitarian commitment. Football is played with commitment and dedication across many levels, from the major FIFA tournaments to the regional and local leagues. The BDM is committed to ensuring that this grassroots football can be played in all mountain villages in the Upper Valais region. Football represents an important social hub for these mountain villages, providing those who live there with a meaningful leisure activity irrespective of their age and gender.

Thanks to the prize money, we were able to continue pursuing our objectives and there is hopefully nothing standing in the way of the BDM continuing to exist in the future. Despite the increasingly noticeable trend of people moving to the valley centres, the BDM is currently on a sound footing and can look to the future with confidence, thanks in no small part to the commitment of the Sepp Blatter Foundation.

Andreas Theiler
President of the BDM

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