When Football Met Socialism

"Non established since 1910"

Have you ever heard of Sankt Pauli? Neither had I until a few years ago. Football has been mixed with politics for years. In Oldham, England, it helped fuel one of the worst race riots seen to this day caused by right-wing fascists. It can effect where certain fans sit, the leanings of the government and even how cool the hoody you wear to your local bar is. 

And no, I won't be talking about Barcelona - unless they have stopped sponsoring Zionism and branding everything which slightly resembles anything left of the Catalan pride.


Now Hamburg is home to two very famous football teams: Hamburger SV (HSV) and FC Sankt Pauli. Whilst HSV participate in the Bundesliga (Germany's top flight) and regularly kick ass, FC Sankt Pauli, who are currently clinching onto the second league, enjoy a much more exclusive fanbase: a worldwide hub of socialist cult fans.

The club was taken over by the fans in order to deter any big companies ruining the spirit of the club. Owned by the fans, for the fans. In a string of democratic votes by the fans committee, Sankt Pauli were the first club in Germany to officially ban right-wing extremists from its ground. Sorry, Nazis. Stick to Red Star Belgrade or some other ultra-Serbian bullshit.

"St. Pauli Against [The Right Wing]." You can genuinely buy that from their club shop. Fucking awesome.

The club - or rather its fan owners - lay down 5 fundamental principles in 2009 to which its fans remain loyal to. Having quickly ran to Wikipedia, I managed to find this amongst a stack of rules and anti-Nazi goodness. Mmm, anti-Nazism:

• "In its totality, consisting of members, staff, fans and honorary officers, St. Pauli FC is a part of the society by which it is surrounded and so is affected both directly and indirectly by social changes in the political, cultural and social spheres."
• "St. Pauli FC is conscious of the social responsibility this implies, and represents the interests of its members, staff, fans and honorary officers in matters not just restricted to the sphere of sport."
• "St. Pauli FC is the club of a particular city district, and it is to this that it owes its identity. This gives it a social and political responsibility in relation to the district and the people who live there."
• "St. Pauli FC aims to put across a certain feeling for life and symbolises sporting authenticity. This makes it possible for people to identify with the club independently of any sporting successes it may achieve. Essential features of the club that encourage this sense of identification are to be honoured, promoted and preserved."
• "Tolerance and respect in mutual human relations are important pillars of the St. Pauli philosophy."

Basically, if you TL/DRed that, it's all about being cool and not an asshole - which I can agree with.

Sankt Pauli is an area of Hamburg which isn't exactly at the top of the list for tourists. Sure, it's easy enough to find, but travel companies have been forced to highlight it because it's perhaps the only fucking interesting thing in Hamburg. Seriously, Hamburg is a boring city for the amount hype it receives.

Sankt Pauli's Reeperbahn. It was a little strange to see so many couples taking a romantic stroll as if it were a fucking street of cafés in Paris.

The club has, however, been able to adopt a cult image due to its rather kinky location. The ground is located only a walk away from the Reeperbahn. If you're asking "Excuse me?" then basically it means this: a super hot, sexy red light district like you've never before seen! For about half a mile you can find yourself walking past sex shops selling dildos the size of lamp posts and bong pipes big enough to sink an aircraft carrier. This, along with the clubs economic reputation, led to the cult phenomenon of the skull and crossbones which now represent the club (and also our blog, tehehe!).

The club currently has an estimated 11 million fans nationwide along with the most number of season ticket holders in all of the German leagues. Whoever said anyone even liked Bayern München? So if you, like Sankt Pauli fans, want to stick it to the man, take over your club, ban Nazis and produce really cool hoodies. Walk like a German (no negative connotations intended)!

Sankt Pauli: Pirates of the league, badasses of the North, rebels of Germany - unite!

A pre-match warm-up at the red light district is also recommended...

Next time: FC United of Manchester: Working Class Football

Written by Kai Pruszynskiy