Another very strange season is drawing to a close, and so I do not want to miss the chance to share my thoughts briefly. On the whole I am glad that it was possible to play both leagues to the end at the highest level. That was by no means a given. Time and again the entire SFL was on the brink of abandoning the season. The amateur clubs can tell you all about it.
Claudius Schäfer and his entire team, who kept things running despite a number of Covid cases thanks to a watertight safety concept, deserve great credit for that. Grazie mille…!
The way in which the season had to be played from start to finish is nevertheless deeply unsatisfying! Unsatisfying above all for the people to whom football belongs… the fans!
Empty stadiums will hopefully soon be a thing of the past.A football match without fans is simply not the same, and I struggled with it right to the end…! The essence of football is missing… an essential part that cannot be simulated or replaced by piped-in stadium atmosphere on TV either.
It is the fans in the stadium who turn a match into a real football match…!
For that reason I wish all of us continued good health and full stadiums again soon. I wish the teams an injury-free final phase with the success they are hoping for.
I hope to see you again in the 2021/22 season.
With sporting regards
Uli Forte
