From The Mag: Berlin Braves x FC Afrisko : Interviews : Soccer Bible

While fortune favours the brave, sometimes the brave inspires the bold. A community that sits proudly in a German city of muscled creative culture, Berlin Braves are a mind­leading collective that with ‘FC Afrisko’ has football at its soul. Celebrating the groundbreakers, we caught up with founding member Joey W. Elgersma to get an intro into a frankly fascinating, brave new world.

Can you tell us how Berlin Braves and in turn FC Afrisko came to fruition – where and when did it all begin?

"To set the scene for this, I might need to take us back a few years. After WWII, Berlin’s iconic Tempelhof Airport was given over to the United States Army. Quickly the air­base gave rise to an intramural sports program, leading to a variety of varsity teams of which many competed under the name “Berlin Braves”. With the end of the Cold War and German reunification, the presence of the American Forces within Berlin ended, and so did that sports program."

"Two decades later when I moved from Amsterdam to Berlin, I got obsessed by the rich (sports) history of the city and started organising weekly “Tempelhofer Park” runs, just to bring people together. In 2012, I finally decided to set in motion the rebirth of the Berlin Braves as a guerrilla sports club for close friends and family. Having fun, staying fit while dedicating all our activities to the original Braves. Now in 2016, we are doing many of the sports we love, with many of the people we love: Baseball, Basketball, Running and Football."

"This is when I partnered up with FC Afrisko, the first football club in Germany, built for and by the African community. Founded by my good friend Yaw Donkor in 2008 and alike to the Braves, they are all about spreading the message of international culture whilst keeping it fun and passionate."

"The city of Berlin is known for many things but compared to other major European cities, our capital is still slightly frail on solid (youth) culture communities. Keeping like­minded people together is key for the cultural development of our city and therefore such initiatives from the likes of Yaw and Co. are essential. In the beginning of this season, FC Afrisko and the Braves teamed up, setting new ambitions, goals and making the team even more international by adding new players and enthusiasts from all over the world."

Is there a sole purpose or objective you guys set out in the beginning?

"Our main motive is to try and brighten up Berlin and the amateur football landscape! We try to represent our multi­cultural district, 'Wedding' in its best way possible by approaching the football world with an open-mind, with diversity and by adding a twist of creativity to it. We strive to become a bigger family driven club that represents and unites the new wave of Berliners. Those that are less traditional and have talents in things other than just football!"

How many players make up the team? Do most come from a creative background?

"Our current football team grew to 30 active players, from by now 18 different countries ranging from Ghana to Mexico, Barbados to Nigeria, from Bali to Mali. Most creatives are in the board of the Berlin Braves, who are leading the different sports departments, so as a player it’s not a must to have a creative background ­ but we are always open to their ideas and new directions. We do things this way to inspire and push our members to be more pro­active off the field."

Why FC Afrisko?

"So many reasons! Firstly is that they are just good people with very warm hearts, and we believe this is more important than anything else. Further than that, I saw great potential in FC Afrisko and believed it would be interesting and inspiring to work with them, helping them to climb the leagues!"

You guys work closely with Nike, how did that connection come about?

"They have been very supportive from day one when it came to the Braves. Shout out to Kathi Zimmermann and the Berlin NRG team, who have always believed in our crazy ideas and hectic visions. We believe there is no other sports brand in the world that fits our crew better in terms of product, look, feel and their cultural understanding. Within our collaboration with FC Afrisko, we have also been able to build on a strong relationship with Nike Football, who have been providing us with necessary tools to help us develop. We’re looking forward to our mutual upcoming events and products within this symbiosis."

Read the full article inside SoccerBible Magazine Issue 5, available here.