"Heil Quelle" Team Wins Cup in Schweinfurt

One hundred teams and 1200 players compete in the ZF Trading Football League throughout Germany

Schweinfurt, 11 June 2008 – More than 100 teams and over 1200 players took part in the first season of the ZF Trading Football League, competing in preliminary rounds throughout Germany. The best 24 teams then met at Schweinfurt's Willy Sachs Stadium for the final tournament on May 31. Games were played on small fields, with seven players to a side and a maximum of five substitutes. The deserving winner was the "Heil Quelle" team from ZF Trading's wholesale partner "Heil & Sohn" in Göttingen. In a thrilling final, it beat the "FC Autoteile Schwerin" team from AS Autoteile in Schwerin by a score of 3 to 1. No game was played to decide third place, so two teams shared the honors: "FC Schalle 04" from the Ihle and Schallbruch wholesale partner, and "1 A Reifen.com" – a second successful team from Heil & Sohn.

All the teams brought fans, who were also very active. The "Speedkick" competition – who has the strongest shot? – was won by Sören Schmieder of the "Wild Soccers Wittich" team. And the goal-wall contest was taken by sharpshooter Bilal Mahmoud from "Hotspurs Wesel". In the tournament itself, the most goals were scored by Philip Katzenberger from KSM/Mezger Schweinfurt. All three winners were pleased to receive a radio-controlled model car. The already passionate atmosphere in the Schweinfurt stadium was brought to a veritable fever pitch by TV host Amiaz and a samba group. The emotional highlight was when the teams marched into the stadium to music that they had selected beforehand for the occasion.

In addition to the game of football itself, the focus of this final May weekend was on team spirit, fun, and getting to know people outside of a business environment. In the evening, the winning teams were honored at a wildly enthusiastic party. They received attractive prizes, both in monetary and material form, such as VIP packages with tickets to a major European sports event in 2008. Following the awards ceremony, singer Steffi List – well-known from her television appearances – took the stage with her cover band Blast. ZF Trading's Marketing Director Dr. Ulrich Walz later spoke about the unqualified success of the ZF Trading Football League, both in sporting and team-building terms – and hinted that there could be subsequent seasons.

ZF Trading with its brand names of Sachs, Lemförder, Boge, and ZF Parts, assumed all the directional and organizational responsibilities for the tournament. Participating wholesale partners served as team directors by forming teams of workshop employees from their regions. Success is only possible by working together. That applies to the workshop teams themselves, of course, but equally so to ZF Trading's relations with its wholesale customers, some of which extend back many years.

Some more pictures of the event

For more information, please contact:
ZF Trading GmbH, Fabiola Wagner,
Head Office, Corporate Communications
Obere Weiden 12, 97424 Schweinfurt
phone: +49 9721 4756-110; fax: 4755-658
e-mail: fabiola.wagner@zf.com
and at the ZF Trading Press Club on the Internet: www.zf.com/de/trading/presse

Last Update: 30.07.2008