Berlin has long been the stronghold for badminton. Clubs played in the upper leagues and the city hosted international tournaments, for example the German Junior, which was hosted in Berlin for the last time in 2024. However, the fact that these championships took place this year with a record 336 players from 29 nations cannot hide the fact that something has changed. The sport of badminton seems to have lost its importance.
“I think that Berlin is still a badminton stronghold. The club density is enormous and there is really a lot of badminton played in Berlin,” says Marcus Köster, head of the badminton department at the Empor Brandenburger Tor sports community (EBT). “The different clubs develop differently, depending on their performance considerations. But in principle, Berlin is still something of a stronghold, just perhaps a little different than it was ten years ago.”
EBT Berlin itself has not been able to match its successes of ten years ago in recent years. From 2011 to 2013 the club was at the top of the Bundesliga. In Köster’s opinion, the fact that these successes are currently lacking is due, among other things, to generational changes, economic aspects and general changes in voluntary work.
“The club is in the middle of a generational change, not only in terms of the players, but also in terms of the club’s management,” the department head points out. “Young players who formed the foundation of the sporting advancement are now of advanced age and some of them are in the official team themselves.” Although the club generally does not have a problem with young talent, according to Köster, the required breadth was not available for various internal and demographic reasons.
Crowdfunding to keep the league
The fact that the financial situation of many clubs is a central problem was felt by SV BerlinerBrauen, who plays in the 2nd Bundesliga. Those responsible for the club from Prenzlauer Berg had to resort to crowdfunding to cover the costs of the league.
Eintracht Südring, once a very successful badminton club that became German champions several times in the late 1990s and even won the European Cup in 1999, also faced significant financial challenges in the following years. In order to reduce the financial burden on the Kreuzberg club, the successful badminton department was outsourced. This decision was necessary to maintain the department’s continued operations as the costs of organizing competitions and ongoing operations became too high.
EBT Berlin was faced with the fact that a lack of financing could even prevent promotion. Due to a lack of financial support, the club was unable to achieve promotion to the 1st Bundesliga this year. “We are more dependent than ever on external funds, and due to the short-term withdrawal of several wealthy sponsors, we were unable to close the financial gap on our own,” explains Marcus Köster. Ultimately, the worst scenario even occurred: the affected team had to be completely deregistered.
According to Köster, the problem is that there is generally little interest in the sport of badminton. “The TV broadcast times during the Olympic Games also showed this. This means that every public and/or private euro of support has to be fought hard for. “Unfortunately we lost the fight,” said Köster.
The hall situation in Berlin is catastrophic
Despite these challenges, the recent development of badminton remains promising overall, at least in Berlin. “In fact, we’re getting so many inquiries that we’re not doing any promotions at the moment. “We have to see whether we can accommodate everyone,” says Köster, referring primarily to the youth sector.
This is not the norm at other clubs. In addition, the indoor situation in Berlin is catastrophic for many clubs. “The renovation backlog is clearly noticeable. “It has now gotten to the point where ranking tournaments cannot be organized because no host with suitable hall capacity can be found,” says Köster.
© IMAGO/Sven Simon
Berlin is still successful. SV BerlinerBrauen is currently playing in the adult section of the 2nd Bundesliga and is also strong in the school and youth sector. The youth doubles Lovis Deters and Jannes Ernst won the bronze medal at the European U15 Championships in Poland 2024. Berlin players also achieved four medals in the senior class at the European Championships in Saarbrücken in April, which underlines the breadth of success in Berlin badminton.
For Köster, badminton remains a personal passion, even with all the challenges. “I like this variety between speed, precision, body awareness and hitting technique. It’s such an extensive sport, and it’s also the fastest racquet sport in the world. At some point it grabbed me and hasn’t let go to this day.”
