From 1 July 2024, around 86,000 German sports clubs can apply for the “Stars of Sport” 2025 award, which is jointly organised by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken. They can enter their initiatives in the areas of education and qualification, health and prevention, integration and inclusion, climate protection, digitalisation or democracy promotion.
However, everyday club work such as club management, youth work, sports club development, volunteer support or member recruitment also have a chance of winning with the “Stars”. The finalists will be honoured at the highest level at the “Great Gold Star of Sport” award ceremony in Berlin in early 2026, with the national winner receiving a gold trophy and prize money of €10,000.
Clubs can first qualify for the local level (Bronze), which is organised by the local Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken, and then for the state level (Silver), which is organised by the regional cooperative associations with the support of the state sports associations. At both levels, clubs can also win star awards with prize money. The Silver winners will qualify for the national finals, where they will compete for the Gold Star of Sport in 2025.
Marija Kolak, President of the Federal Association of German Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks (BVR), said, “These days we see a lot of top-class sporting achievements that inspire and connect people across Europe and the world. But where do these achievements come from and who has supported them?
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“It is the local sports clubs that lay the foundations and work voluntarily in their spare time to promote togetherness in our society. We, the approximately 700 Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks, together with the DOSB, want to honour this with the ‘Stars of Sport’ and are looking forward to receiving numerous applications,” she added.
DOSB President Thomas Weikert said, “We are excited and looking forward to the many contributions with which our clubs make to strengthening social cohesion at grassroots level. Their importance for an active lifestyle, togetherness and cohesion in our country will be presented in a fascinating and impressive way in the ‘Stars of Sport’. I appeal to all sports clubs to apply for the highest award for volunteer work in German sport.”
Sports clubs can apply via www.viele-schaffen-mehr.de/sterne-des-sports. The application period will start on 1 July 2024 and end on 30 June 2025. Applications for the next edition will then be accepted from 1 July 2025. More information on ‘Stars of Sports 2025’ can be found at www.sterne-des-sports.de. Impressions, tips and information about the “Stars of Sports” can also be found on the social media channels @sportdeutschland and the community channel @sternedessports.