Coach Esume raves about the Gelsenkirchen Arena

Gelsenkirchen. Patrick Esume, co-founder of the European League of Football, promises an unforgettable football final in the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen.

Another sporting event is celebrating its premiere in Schalke – the final of the European League of Football. After Düsseldorf (2021), Klagenfurt am Wörthersee/Austria (2022) and Duisburg (2023), the most important and biggest game in European football will be played in the 62,271-seat FC Schalke 04 stadium. With this highlight, the Veltins Arena is continuing a past tradition: 20 years ago, a football team, Düsseldorf Rhein Fire, was a regular guest in Gelsenkirchen.

And one person is particularly looking forward to it: Patrick Esume, also known to many as “Coach Esume”, has had an impressive career in football. He started as a player and worked his way up through various positions in Germany and the USA to become head coach. But he found his true calling as a commentator and presenter, where he not only shares his specialist knowledge, but also passes on his passion for the sport to viewers. Through his work on television and as a co-founder of the European League of Football (ELF), Esume has helped to popularize American football in Germany and give it a new stage.

Matthias Tillmann (CEO of FC Schalke 04) in the middle of the picture, as well as Zeljko Karajica (Managing Director of the ELF) and Patrick Esume (Commissioner of the ELF) are allowed to hold it: the trophy that the EFL final winner receives.
© Ralf Ibing /firo Sportphoto | Ralf Ibing

“I’m expecting a great game in a great stadium,” says Esume, looking ahead to the EFL final on Sunday, September 22nd. “The Veltins Arena has everything you need for a football final like this.” “Because football is a real family sport,” says Patrick Esume, which is why there will be hands-on activities and programs for children and adults around the stadium on match day. “The atmosphere at football is different to soccer, it’s much more family-oriented,” says Esume, and hopes that many who have never been to such a sporting event will come to Gelsenkirchen to see for themselves. “We will be playing on 30,000 square meters in front of the stadium.” There will be a pre-game party and music. “It was a folk festival meets top-class sport,” says Esume.

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Around 35,000 tickets have already been sold. Those responsible for the European League of Football hope that the Donnerhalle at Bergerfeld will be sold out when “the best European footballers” play for the championship, as Esume puts it. The “coach” is certain that the best players, most professional teams and coaches in Europe play in the EFL. “The level in the league is really high,” Patrick Esume guarantees everyone who has hardly or not at all been involved with football in Europe.

Who will fight for the championship in the European League of Football in Gelsenkirchen?

In their semi-finals on September 7th and 8th, the Paris Musketeers and Vienna Vikings as well as the Rhein Fire and Stuttgart Surge will fight for a place in the final in Gelsenkirchen. “When I see which teams can be in the final here, I can promise everyone top-class sport at the highest level.” “It will be a game that the boys on and around the pitch will never forget,” enthuses former footballer Esume.

Rhein Fire didn’t even let themselves be duped by the Madrid Bravos. And especially not at home in Duisburg. The champions of the European League of Football are in the play-off semi-finals of the European League of Football.
© FUNKE Photo Services | Michael Dahlke

Similar to the Super Bowl, the final of US football, there will also be a halftime show in Gelsenkirchen that is sure to delight the audience, according to those responsible for the EFL. However, Patrick Esume did not reveal which artist it would be in an interview with WAZ.

New football attendance record in Gelsenkirchen

The previous attendance record in the ELF has stood since June 11, 2023, when 32,500 spectators witnessed the duel between the Sea Devils and Rhein Fire in Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion. The latter then won the championship game against Stuttgart Surge in front of 31,500 spectators in the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena in Duisburg. A new league record, that much is already certain, will be set on September 22 in Gelsenkirchen.

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However, to break the 17-year-old record for a European soccer game, more than 48,125 spectators would have to come to the Veltins Arena. That was the number of fans counted at the 2007 NFL Europe final between the Frankfurt Galaxy and the Sea Devils, which the Hamburg team won. At the time, Patrick Esume was part of the Sea Devils’ coaching staff on the sidelines.

Tickets for the final in Gelsenkirchen are available here.

topicnews · September 3, 2024

Coach Esume raves about the Gelsenkirchen Arena

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