Children with and without disabilities compete in wheelchair football

Mandy and Marcel Pierer organised Germany’s first national tournament

"We want to establish the Wheel Soccer Cup here in south Germany"

There are some people you simply have to applaud for their remarkable dedication, and Mandy and Marcel Pierer are two such individuals.

The couple took over the MTV Wheelers children’s and youth wheelchair club four years ago and have been leading the group enthusiastically ever since. Last year they also organised Germany’s first nationwide wheelchair football tournament in Stuttgart, where children with and without disabilities competed against each other in wheelchairs.

Their passion for the sport has helped to motivate them, as Mandy explained in an interview with FIFA.com. "Our son is dependent on a wheelchair," she said. "When he was very small and got his first chair, we attended a wheelchair mobility training course. My husband and I sat in wheelchairs for the first time and learned how to use them. The course also offered wheelchair football. That was nine years ago," she recalled, adding with a smile: "After putting the kids to bed, we were so hooked on the game that we all played it with the coaches."

Two years ago, the Pierers competed in a wheelchair football tournament in Berlin with the MTV Wheelers and, after seeing how much the children enjoyed it, decided to organise something similar in Stuttgart. However, the journey from the original idea to the final realisation of the project was a long and difficult one. It took a full two years to organise the event.

"Remember, we’re the parents of three children, one with special needs, and we have jobs, so we didn’t have the time to work on it every day," Mandy said. "We did everything ourselves, from booking the venue to organising and marketing. Not every sports hall is suitable for that kind of event.

"If you invite people to a major inclusive sporting event, you also need a fully accessible venue – and that means doing more than simply ensuring that people can enter the building by wheelchair. You need the right toilet facilities and dressing rooms too. It took a while for us to find the right venue and book a date."