TSG Hoffenheim extend partnership with Audi

Continuity in the region: Audi and TSG Hoffenheim will continue their successful cooperation over the next four years. The Four Rings have been by TSG’s side since the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 2009. “Continuity is an essential success factor in football – that is why we are always on hand to help our long-term partners, even in challenging times. TSG Hoffenheim have impressively established themselves as the sporting figurehead of the region in the Bundesliga and, like Audi, strive for outstanding performance,” said Fred Schulze, Audi’s Neckarsulm plant manager.

For example, Audi and TSG are continuously driving forward the electrification of the Bundesliga’s vehicle pool – in line with the theme of ecology and the motto “TSG is movement”. The future strategy combines, among other things, the club’s commitment to social responsibility, as well as initiatives, projects and social engagement.

“We have been working successfully with Audi for more than a decade. So we are proud that a globally renowned company is continuing to commit to moving along our common path. Both TSG Hoffenheim and Audi are deeply rooted in the region and want to bring this strong partnership from our home area into a national and international environment,” said Denni Strich, Managing Director of TSG Hoffenheim.

There are a number of Audi-ites with close links to the club. With more than 1,400 members, the “Audi Fanclub TSG Hoffenheim” is TSG’s largest fan club. There is also a close connection between the two based on their geographical proximity: the Audi site in Neckarsulm is only 30 km down the road from the club’s stadium in Sinsheim.

Audi is the new partner of the TSG women’s team

The new contract also includes a partnership with the TSG Hoffenheim women’s team, who have been playing in the Women’s Bundesliga since 2013 and have established themselves as one of the top teams in Germany over the past several years. The TSG ladies finished fourth in the Women’s Bundesliga in the 2022/23 season. Through the sponsorship, Audi are hoping to support not only the women’s team itself, but also the positive development of women’s football in Germany in general, and to bring it into greater focus for its employees through campaigns, such as meet & greets or Audi’s International Diversity & Inclusion Days.

Stronger alignment with the corporate citizenship strategy

The future cooperation will be even more closely aligned with Audi’s corporate citizenship strategy. For example, Audi will use TSG Hoffenheim’s expertise in the fields of health and fitness to start new initiatives through the Audi healthy living system. In addition, the partnership is to help with existing projects, including the “Audi Sommerkinder” (Audi Summer Children) holiday leisure programme or the Audi Social Day, which this year saw employees from all production sites help out at a number of local social institutions in the summer. TSG President Kristian Baumgärtner also took part in the Audi Social Day, helping upgrade the outdoor facilities at a kindergarten.

Audi’s sponsorship also includes more youth football projects, including football camps for children and workshops for youth coaches from the region. “With our commitment to local sport in Neckarsulm, we assume social responsibility as part of being a ‘good neighbour’. Through joint actions, our employees and the region can actively participate in this partnership and fill it with life,” said Schulze. They can do that by making the most of opportunities for employees to play and get involved in the area around TSG Hoffenheim, for example the “Kicken wie die Profis” (Play Like the Pros) programme, in which football enthusiasts are allowed to play on the very pitch the pros use to play for Bundesliga points on the weekend. Audi trainees from the Neckarsulm plant were also able to show off the results of their trainee vehicle project in the TSG stadium last year: a rickshaw that they had converted into an e-rickshaw powered by used Audi batteries.