The team of FC St. Pauli are among the most popular clubs in Germany, and since 2024 they are finally playing First Bundesliga again! The “Boys in Brown” have shaped the St. Pauli quarter like nothing else: wherever you go, you will see the brown-and-white jerseys and the skull and bones of the ‘Jolly Roger’ flag.
The 'Jolly Roger' stands for an entire district and the attitude that is deeply connected with this special place. The area by the River Elbe stands for entertainment, nightlife, eroticism and a life outside society's norms. The famous Reeperbahn street, the Landungsbrücken piers and the Fischmarkt markets are among the most visited sites in Hamburg and the Hamburg DOM fun fair is the largest of its kind in Germany.
You'll Never Walk Alone
Right in the middle of all this towers Millerntor stadium, home to FC St. Pauli. The location reflects in the crowds that are drawn to every St. Pauli game: it's safe to say that the younger and more liberal inner-city crowd favours their boys in brown over the more traditional and suburban HSV team. Even lagging behind HSV's national and international success (at least, since the beginning of the German Bundesliga) doesn't affect the unwavering support for St. Pauli. The team has a whole host of enthusiastic supporters. Doubling up as a must-have souvenir for any international football enthusiast, the club's merchandise has been selling like hot cake for years.
Tickets to the games are hard to come by ─ the 29,546 seats of the Millerntor stadium, located in the heart of St. Pauli, are almost always sold out. After all, it's the little things that St. Pauli fans are proud of: sensationally defeating Bayern München in 2002 officially gave the club the tongue-in-cheek moniker of Weltpokalsiegerbesieger (winner against the Intercontinental Cup's winner). It is this very special attitude that earned the club its international reputation. After all, which other European 'soccer' team can claim to have a Brooklyn-based supporters club?
Football and Politics
FC St. Pauli isn't your everyday football club. Because of the urban, diverse and colourful crowds at home games, the club has always been a little more open to progressive political ideas than most of their opponents. Everyone is welcome at the games and the many bars and pubs that screen live games. No wonder that Millerntor stadium doubles as a popular location for art, music and fundraiser events. The Fanladen project provides the space for supporters to organise self-help groups, meetings and special programmes for minorities.
The iconic Millerntor is also the only stadium to feature a kindergarten in one of its stands. FC St. Pauli is also closely associated to the local LGBTQIA+ community, to the international water charity organisation Viva Con Agua, and to culture and arts projects, such as the Millerntor Gallery arts festival. Since 2024, FC St. Pauli is organised as a cooperative, financed by its members' contributions in order to stay independent of investors.