Did you just arrive in Frankfurt and you’re in the mood for a bit of local integration? Supporting Eintracht Frankfurt is a great way not just to meet new people (and practice some German) but also to have a talking point with people across Frankfurt. And the stadium atmosphere is amazing! If you don’t have people to go with, just ask for volunteers on expats group in Facebook or on Internations and you will soon have a new group of friends!

In fact, supporting Eintracht is a big deal here, and the number of registered supporters is growing rapidly. In 2018, they won the DFB Cup (a German knockout competition) stunning the regular favourites Bayern Munich in Berlin. The city went crazy celebrating and full scale murals went up on the sides of buildings. To follow up on that, they had a couple of crazy seasons in Europe, blowing away some big european names (including Barcelona) before lifting the UEFA Cup in 2022 after a crazy 5:4 against Glasgow Rangers in Seville.

In 2018 there were only 60,000 registered fans. Now, there are 135,000, and that just counts for the registered fans. Plenty more people support in bars and restaurants around the city on match night. There is a growing number of international and English speaking supporters so don’t have to worry about being the only non-german speaking supporter. Just make sure you get an Eagle’s scarf before you go and sit with the home supporters!

When to go?
The Bundesliga (league) games are probably the most fun, although the european games are a good experience as well. The prices vary though. If you want to see the Eintracht v Bayern Munich game, expect to spend upwards of €200. For other league games, between €70-100 is a reasonable basic price. But if you are just after the atmosphere of a game in the stadium then you should have a look for exhibition or warm ups like the pre-season friendly where there will be lots of free tickets flying around the city. Ask around at work as well to see if anyone has a deal or a corporate seat free somewhere.

I have lived in a few football towns and nothing so far matches the sea of black and white flags and eagle emblems filling the ubahn and the city centre for big matches. And I’ll be honest, I have regularly cursed my luck flying into Frankfurt Airport only to find myself in an s-bahn suddenly packed full with merry, sweaty and slightly inebriated black and white Eagles fans.

Essential information!

So what do you need to know about the Eagles?

1. Dead give away, Eintracht are called ‘the Eagles’ or ‘die Adler’ and they even have a real live golden eagle mascot called Attila who has been flying before games since 2006/7.
2. Eintracht has a fierce rivalry with local clubs, most notably with 1. FSV Mainz 05 and SV Darmstadt 98. The matches against these teams are highly charged and are known as the Rhein-Main-Derby.
3. The club was founded in 1899 but have only once won the German league in 1959.
4. Since the mid-90s Eintracht have struggled to finish off the bottom of the table and have been relegated 4 times. However the last 6 seasons have seen a renaissance with finishes mostly in the top half of the table.
5. The club’s home ground is Deutsche Bank Park, formerly known as Commerzbank-Arena, renowned for its electrifying atmosphere.
6. The old, hardcore Ultra fans still have a bit of a bad reputation and regularly get into confrontations with supporters from other teams and the police. But generally matchdays are a real family affair and a great experience for everyone in attendance.

For everything else, there is always wikipedia!

Main image credit: Eintracht Frankfurt

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