‘As a company that stands for diversity, community and inclusion, it was a great pleasure for us at BILLA to support the SPIELERPASS CUP. This tournament, which is organised by volunteers, shows how sport brings people together and creates real moments of happiness,’ says Hamed Mohseni, BILLA Sales Director.
Unforgettable tournament with real goosebump moments
The seventh edition of the SPIELERPASS CUP presented by BILLA thrilled with pure emotion, sporting ambition and team spirit. The tournament took place at the Westside Soccer Arena in Vienna and was bigger and more diverse than ever before: 25 teams from five federal states fought exciting duels in five performance levels. Women and men battled side by side with full commitment for victory, while the spectators celebrated every action loudly and brought the atmosphere in the stands to a fever pitch. The first places in the five performance levels went to: FK Austria Wien (Champions), FK Austria Wien Kids (Legends), SKN St. Pölten (Talents), FC Blau-Weiß Linz (Challenger) SPIELERPASS (Stars).
Nikolas Karner, SPIELERPASS initiator: ‘Our aim is to offer the players the biggest possible stage and encourage them to stay true to their passion for football. The response shows us how important the SPIELERPASS CUP has become. It's great to see that our tournament is growing year on year and that more and more teams want to take part.’
Eric Scharnitz, BILLA Sales Director, presented the trophies on site: ‘We won't forget this day for a long time. It was a great celebration of emotion, joy and movement and the games were not only exciting, but also great examples of fair play and team spirit!’
Football greats as referees and premiere of ‘Silent Hour Court’
Prominent guests of honour added a special touch to the tournament: Stefan Maierhofer, Steffen Hoffmann, Sara Telek, Erwin Hoffer, Jörg Siebenhandl, Tina Charwat, Josef Michorl, Slobodan Batricevic, Muhmmet Akagündüz, Tanju Kayhan, Mirnes Becirovic, Christian Keglevits, Thomas Hinum, Alexander Grünwald, Stephan Helm and Mario Sonnleitner took on the role of referees and ensured fair decisions. For the first time at a football tournament in Austria, a ‘silent hour court’ was also implemented with reduced acoustic and visual stimuli. This successfully created a new inclusive football experience for people with autism.
Inclusion as part of the BILLA DNA
BILLA currently employs around 1,000 people with disabilities and is committed to creating an inclusive working environment. In addition, various measures are implemented together with partners such as the Rainman's Home association to create a shopping experience that is as accessible as possible. For example, in addition to special shopping trolleys for wheelchair users, BILLA has also been offering a ‘’silent hour‘’ for people with autism and sensitive customers in some BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores for several years. The online services are also largely accessible.
