Prof. Dr. Thorsten Wiechmann, a professor in the Department of Spatial Planning at TU Dortmund University, participated in a panel discussion on May 13, 2022, at the conference “Soccer Meets the City – On the Significance and Role of Soccer Clubs in the Emscher Region,” alongside Dirk große Schlarmann, sports journalist and host; Olivier Kruschinski, Schalker Markt Foundation; Peter Knäbel of FC Schalke 04, and Prof. Dr. Uli Paetzel, Chairman of the Board of Emschergenossenschaft and Lippeverband, about the importance of soccer for the development of the Ruhr region. The organizers—Emschergenossenschaft, FC Schalke 04, the Schalker Markt Foundation, and KoMet—agreed: soccer clubs like Schalke 04 or Borussia Dortmund are “integration engines” and “social glue” that unite people in the region across social and urban boundaries.
You can find the press article HERE.
