“It makes so much sense, we share many values. We are closely connected to the fans and want to promote American football,” said Isabelle Van Coevorden, Director of International Marketing for the Seahawks. “This is not a marketing strategy, we want to connect with society in Germany and grow authentically.”
A crucial part of the partnership is the flag football program and creating more opportunities for flag football in Germany. This is a way to get in touch with fans in Germany and win new ones. “The partnership opens all doors for us,” said Van Coevorden. This will be expressed in various collaborations digitally or, for example, at Rhein Fire game days or the NFL’s Munich game next November.
Rhein Fire’s head coach Jim Tomsula said: “We really hoped that the Seahawks would want to make this possible. They are so unique in the way they do things, the way they take their fans with them and get involved in society. They don’t talk about it, they do it: their fans are part of the team, they do important things in society. What we want to do at Rhein Fire, the Seahawks are already doing. We want to do a lot of things like them and learn from them.”
The NFL has been intensifying its efforts to make the sport and the league better known in Germany for years. Several teams now have marketing rights for the German-speaking region, and games are now played on German soil every year. The Seahawks were at the NFL’s first regular season game in Munich in 2022. In addition, the NFL Germany headquarters opened in Düsseldorf almost a year ago. The cooperation between the Seahawks and Rhein Fire is now a further step.
A delegation from Seattle was already visiting the team for the Fire’s season opener at the Cologne Centurions in Aachen. In addition to numerous meetings, a visit to the game was also on the agenda. Mario Bailey, Vice President of Community Engagement and Legends at the Seahawks, was also there. He announced at the time that the NFL team was planning to work with Rhein Fire.
Bailey didn’t give any details at the time. “Something is coming,” he simply said. Now we know what it is: the first partnership between an ELF and an NFL team.
#Share #values #Rhein #Fire #enters #partnership #Seattle #Seahawks