Soccer ball on a soccer field
Jul 25, 2024

VEKA and Gofus create new playgrounds

German initiative „Platz da!“

The winners were already known before the start of the European Championships: the children and young people at the 10 European Championship venues throughout Germany can look forward to newly created or freshly renovated football pitches and playgrounds. The German non-profit association Gofus and its main sponsor, VEKA AG, are behind this exemplary campaign.

With the initiative “Platz da!”, Gofus has already renovated more than 260 playgrounds and football pitches throughout Germany. To accompany the European Championships this summer, the project was launched to open a new football pitch at each of the 10 venues in Germany in order to create more urgently needed exercise opportunities in public spaces for local children and young people.

The grand opening of the first football pitch took place on June 8, 2024 in Munich-Moosach. This playground was sponsored by Manfred Bender, a former professional footballer. Bender, who played for Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich, among others, and was twice German champion with Bayern, brings his experience and passion for soccer to the initiative, as do many other former professionals. The opening was a celebration for the whole family, bringing together children, young people and soccer enthusiasts from the neighborhood.

In the meantime, six playgrounds have already been handed over to the public as part of the European Championship initiative, and four more are still in progress and will follow in the coming months. In addition to celebrities from sports and local politics, a representative of a VEKA partner company is always present to act as a local sponsor.

Since VEKA took over the role of the main sponsor for Gofus in 2022, VEKA partners throughout Germany as well as the system provider's employees have been asked to suggest playgrounds or football pitches that are in urgent need of renovation. Because cities and local authorities often lack the funds to do this, this help is very welcome.

Former professional athletes take on responsibility

Gofus is a non-profit association in which active and former competitive athletes from soccer, handball and other sports have joined forces to help socially disadvantaged children and young people. The more than 500 members are united by the idea of “giving back some of their own happiness”. To this aim, they meet regularly at various golf events in Germany and raise money for a good cause.

All proceeds from the events will be donated to the Gofus initiative “Platz da!”. This initiative creates the conditions to support children and young people according to their age: Playgrounds are being built or repaired for the youngest children and multi-purpose areas for children and young people.

Josef L. Beckhoff, Executive Director Sales & Marketing at VEKA AG, explains the commitment: “We support Gofus and the ‘Platz da!’ initiative with full conviction, as we share the same values and have future generations in mind. Our future-friendly actions fit in perfectly with our motivation to give back some of our own happiness. In addition, this initiative enables us to involve VEKA partners throughout Germany and thus contribute together to improving the quality of life of future generations through playgrounds and football pitches.”

Josef Bekchoff and Nico Rulfs at the construction site of a new playground

Since the start of the partnership between VEKA and Gofus, over 50 pitches have already been renovated. As part of the European Championship project, a total of 10 will be renovated. Josef L. Beckhoff, Executive Director Sales & Marketing at VEKA AG, and Gofus Managing Director Nico Rulfs are delighted with the success of the partnership.