Volunteers and virtual beer: German fans take fight to virus

When their side played promotion rivals Arminia Bielefeld in the German second division on March 9, Stuttgart fans did not realise that it would be the last game before the coronavirus lockdown.

A week later, football was suspended in Germany and Stuttgart's "ultras" were focusing instead on helping the elderly and vulnerable during the health crisis.

"A lot of people are ready to put their own egos to one side and come together to help the community," Clemens Knoedler of Stuttgart ultra group Schwabensturm told AFP.

"In the week after the Bielefeld game it became clear that something would change. We met up and asked ourselves what we were going to do."
- Tight-knit structures -
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"We know that we are able to get relatively complex things going in a short space of time. On issues like social media production, telephone contacts and printing flyers...we have a pool of people to fall back on."
- Banners and beers -
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