SV Waldhof Mannheim

Mannheim is between the rivers Neckar and Rhine, about 50 miles due south of Frankfurt. With  a population of over 300,000 it is one of the largest cities in the region.

Mannheim is over 400 years old and there are plenty of old buildings to see. But it is also a modern and forward-looking city. Several multi-national companies have bases here. They include Siemens, Caterpillar, IBM, Daimler and Unilever.

The city is also home to SV Waldhof Mannheim, who currently play in the Regionalliga Südwest, which is the fourth level of German football.

The history of SV Waldhof Mannheim began in 1907, and the club was reasonably successful at a local and regional level for most of the last century. The club’s most successful period was in the 1980s when it played in the Bundesliga every season from 1983 to 1990. Relegation in 1990 was followed by a further drop into the third division 7 years later. Since then the club has battled with financial problems and moved between the fourth division (Regionalliga) and and fifth division (Oberliga). They currently play in the Regionalliga Südwest.

The club has a strong and loyal fanbase. On 11 June 2011, for example, a league record-breaking  crowd of 18,312 fans cheered their club on to a 6-0 promotion-clinching win over FV Illertissen.

Stadium

The Carl-Benz-Stadion was opened in 1994. It has  25,721 places, including 13,713 seats. Average attendance in 17/18 was 4,797

Tickets

It’s cheaper to buy your ticket in advance at the online ticket shop and use Print@Home. You will pay between 10  and 17 euros. There is an extra charge of 2 euros if you pay on the day.

Directions

You can travel to Mannheim by Intercity Express train in under an hour, The trip will cost you 19.90 euros. Use Deutsche Bahn or Loco2 to book your ticket.

If you don’t mind a slightly longer journey look out for regional trains. These are often cheaper.

Click here for more advice on train travel in Germany.

Once you get to the central station you take tram RNV 9 to the ground. On match-days they lay on extra trams for football fans. And you can use your match ticket on public transport to and from the game.