Ahead of our 3–1 win over Bayern Munich, we were delighted to welcome representatives of Bayern Munich to the Arsenal Hub and to our sessions at Barnard Park.
One of the representatives included Bayern legend Thomas Linke, a five-time Bundesliga champion, three-time German Cup winner, and UEFA Champions League winner with Bayern, who also lifted the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) with Schalke.
Linke observed our Premier League Primary Stars Islington Schools League session, which featured a special Champions League theme. Bayern generously donated kits for the participants, allowing each 7v7 fixture to be played with one team representing Arsenal and the other Bayern, each proudly wearing their club’s colours.
The Islington Schools League forms part of our wider Premier League Primary Stars provision, the Premier League’s flagship primary school education programme. Funded through the Premier League Foundation, the initiative harnesses the power of football to help children stay active and develop essential life skills.
Reflecting on the session, Linke said:
“It was amazing to see how much enthusiasm and joy the children brought with them. For the kids, this evening was very special, creating special moments is what football is all about. When clubs work together, they can make a big impact in the social sphere and show how powerful football is in society. It is precisely the closeness to people and to the community that makes football strong.”
Immediately afterwards, our visitors observed and joined our Football Plus session, alongside coaches from Bayern’s International Youth Department. Football Plus, funded by the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association Players’ Fund, uses regular grassroots football sessions delivered by Arsenal in the Community to help raise awareness of key social issues while providing inclusive playing opportunities for children and young people.
The following day, the Bayern representatives toured the Arsenal Hub, met with community staff, and took part in a Q&A with our NCFE students, rounding off a brilliant collaboration between the two clubs.
Arsenal x Bayern Community
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.