Continental is partner of one of the German clubs with a long tradition Eintracht Frankfurt which is the team of record bundesliga player and Conti star Charly Körbel since the saison of 2004/2005. Beside of boardings at the home games of the team we can use tickets available for game visits together with business customers. In October 2004 Continental was sponsor of the day at the home game against TSV 1860 Munich which was used to hand over a new car - a Conti branded Mini - for his job as director of Eintracht Frankfurt Soccer School. Further more Continental is cooperating with Charly Körbel and some players of the team for trade fairs and promotions from time to time.

The heart of German football beats in Frankfurt. The sport’s control centre is there. The Deutsche Fußball-Bund (DFB – German Football Association) has its headquarters there. The Organising Committee of the FIFA World Cup 2006™(OC) has its offices there. The Deutsche Fußball-Liga (DFL – German Football League) operates from there. And naturally FIFA Confederations Cup matches will take place in the city in summer 2005. That Frankfurt is one of the venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ somehow goes without saying.

Many of Frankfurt’s inhabitants think that German football’s heart also beats in “Mainhatten” but they don’t think it’s  because the DFB, DFL and OC have set up shop in the so-called “Stadtwald”. Eintracht Frankfurt – they set the footballing standards in Germany’s business capital.

Eintracht was founded on March 8th 1899 and today the club has 6000 members in various sports. Football was one of the driving forces early on at the club whose colours are red and black. Eintracht stormed to their one and only German championship in 1959. One year later, the team forced its way into the final of the European Cup.

The club won the DFB Cup four times - 1974, 1975, 1981 and 1988. But the most memorable moment in the club’s history came in 1980 when Eintracht beat Borussia Mönchengladbach (2-3, 1-0) to win the UEFA Cup. Playing in the team were stars such as Pahl, Pezzey, Körbel, Borchers, Nickel, Hölzenbein, Nachtweih and Tscha.

Eintracht Frankfurt is also the home of Karl-Heinz Körbel. Known as “faithful Charly”, Körbel played in an Eintracht shirt between 1972 and 1991 and set records in doing so. The name Körbel is associated with 602 Bundesliga matches and 45 goals. No other player in the top German league has appeared in more matches than him. He is and was the epitome of reliability.

Three FIFA World Cup winners became big names whilst at Frankfurt: Jürgen Grabowski, Bernd Hölzenbein (both 1974) and Andreas Möller (1990). But they never won the championship with Frankfurt.

Going into the last game of the 1991/92 Bundesliga season against relegation strugglers Hansa Rostock, the team managed by the then team coach, Dragoslav Stepanovic, looked certain champions. The Champagne was in the fridge and Eintracht one game away from the title.

Up north on the  Baltic coast, Frankfurt were denied an obvious penalty with score at 1-1. And then Rostockscored the decisive goal in the final minute. Third instead of the title – it was one of the bitterest moments in the club’s history.

The relegation years 1995/96, 2000/2001 and 2003/2004 also belong to the sadder times. The ecstasy after twice being promoted back to the Bundesliga never lasted long. The next attempt to get back into the top German division is now underway: Chairman, Heribert Bruchhagen and head coach Friedhelm Funkel both aim to get the club back among the best 18 German teams again before the start of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™.

With Funkel at the helm (320 Bundesliga games and 83 goals) they have a coach that has already steered 1. FC Köln, Uerdingen and Duisburg out of the second division and back to the top. Eintracht deserves, in the magnificent new “Waldstadion”, to get back on course – a steady and successful course.