Again in 2009, the ball got rolling at Continental. On the occasion of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, co-sponsored by Continental, the second ContiTeamCup got underway in April 2009. Once more, Continental’s entire workforce was invited to participate in this football tournament. All told, colleagues from around 100 plants in 25 countries formed teams and entered into competition. In September 2010, the closing round – i.e. the quarterfinals, semi-finals and final match – again took place in Hanover, where Continental is headquartered.

The purpose of the tournament was to bring colleagues from different locations, countries, and cultures together and promote team spirit – all under the “Fit for the Future” motto.

The initial games were on a local basis. Then the top teams vied for the national title. This was followed by the group matches. And so it was that as the second ContiTeamCup progressed on into 2010, the national champions in the women’s competition from Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary faced up, for example, for the group matches in Slovakia or the men’s national champion from Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal met in Italy.

All told, hundreds of matches were played during the tournament. The employees organized these on a voluntary basis, largely in their spare time. Invitations went back and forth from one plant to another. Other events were held in conjunction with the football matches – open house, factory tours or folklore festivals, for instance. The ContiTeamCup brought many colleagues together for the first time, with friendships being formed, in some cases despite language barriers.