DFL rewards 101 amateur clubs for the development of professional players – certificates presented in Bochum and Mainz
25 October 2023 – This year, the DFL’s training reward brought amateur and professional football closer together than ever before. In addition to the financial rewards granted to all the recognised amateur clubs, DFL representatives traditionally visit individual clubs to hand over a certificate. This time, the presentations were also attended by former professional players and representatives of Bundesliga clubs to which the respective players now belong.
On this occasion, individualised certificates were personally presented to TSV SCHOTT Mainz by Andreas Nagel, DFL Director of Sport & Youth Development, and to FC Altenbochum 1920/28 as well as DJK Arminia Bochum 1926, both by Ansgar Schwenken, member of the DFL Management Board and DFL Director of Match Operations & Fans.
The three clubs were among the total of 101 amateur clubs below the 3. Liga that were involved in the training of players who went on to play in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. This year, the DFL supported these clubs with a total reward of approximately €1.5 million for this training. A total of 54 professional players debuted in the top two tiers of German football in the past 2022-23 season, for whom an appropriate training reward was paid.
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Players making their debut last season included Tjark Ernst (20), goalkeeper at Hertha Berlin, Tim Oermann (20), defender at VfL Bochum 1848, and Nelson Weiper (18), striker at 1. FSV Mainz 05. The trio’s first appearances in the Bundesliga benefited DJK Arminia Bochum, FC Altenbochum and TSV SCHOTT Mainz – the three clubs where Ernst, Oermann and Weiper first played football. Ernst made his first appearance in the Bundesliga for Hertha Berlin against VfL Wolfsburg (2:1) on 27 May 2023. Oermann debuted in the Bundesliga on 18 September 2023 against 1. FC Köln (1:1). And Weiper started his Bundesliga career against Sport-Club Freiburg (1:1) on 19 March 2023.
Nearly €10 million since the 2017-18 season
The reward is given to amateur clubs below 3. Liga that coach players who later go on to become professionals. This coaching can take place at any point from the season of the player’s 6th birthday to the season of their 21st birthday. The clubs receive €4,200 for each full season of training from the season of the player’s 6th birthday to the season of his 11th birthday. For training from the season of the player’s 12th birthday to the season of his 21st birthday, the clubs receive €5,400 per season. This reward system, revised by the DFL in favour of amateur clubs, was first implemented in the 2017-18 season. Prior to this date, only the five previous seasons before each player’s debut were considered. Since 2017-18, a total of nearly €10 million has been paid to clubs below 3. Liga.
All three clubs that received a visit emphasised that this financial support from the DFL is extremely helpful and will go towards their own youth development work, “whether it is used to pay for balls, shirts and training equipment or for the further education of our coaches,” they said unanimously. On the one hand, the amateur clubs hope to create opportunities for professional football careers in the near future. On the other hand, the managers also believe that their clubs have a role to play in society, e.g., by instilling values in young players and helping young people from other countries and cultures to integrate.
Role models for the next generation
Professional players from the clubs’ own ranks who have made it to the Bundesliga are naturally seen as role models. That’s why, when U20 international player Tim Oermann attended the event in Altenbochum, he was asked by children for autographs and selfies during a break in the training session for several youth teams. The event was also attended by his parents, club representatives and the former Bundesliga players Heiko Butscher and Axel Sundermann (now coach of FC Altenbochum’s senior team). As interim coach of Bochum’s Bundesliga team, Heiko Butscher was responsible for Tim Oermann’s debut at the highest German league.
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In addition to club representatives led by youth manager Jan Peters, the presentation of the certificate at DJK Arminia Bochum was attended by the parents of U20 international goalkeeper Tjark Ernst: his mother Kerstin (former Bundesliga player and champion with FSV Frankfurt) and father Thomas (former Bundesliga goalkeeper for Eintracht Frankfurt, VfL Bochum 1848, VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Kaiserslautern).
U21 international Nelson Weiper was unable to attend the event at TSV SCHOTT in person – as initially planned – due to a medical procedure. Mainz 05 was represented by Volker Kersting, Director of Youth Football, who brought along a shirt signed by Weiper as a gift for his hometown club, where he played in the U9 team. The club already benefited from the DFL’s training reward two years ago, when Matando-Merveille Papela, who had also transferred from there to Mainz 05, likewise debuted in the Bundesliga.
Here is a list of all clubs that received a reward, the players who made their debuts, and the professional Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs for which they played for the first time in the 2022-23 season (available in German language):