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Borussia Mönchengladbach has again linked fan engagement with everyday mobility by inviting club members and members of the FPMG Supporters Club e.V. to join “Team Borussia” for this year’s STADTRADELN campaign in Mönchengladbach. The activation is simple, local, and structured around participation rather than spectacle.
By Joachim Stelmach
The club announced the initiative on 15 April 2026. As in previous editions, the format is open to Borussia members and members of the official FPMG Supporters Club. They are invited to collect kilometres together as part of “Team Borussia” during the city’s annual cycling campaign.
The core mechanic is clear. Participants do not engage through a vote, a contest inside the stadium, or a one-off digital feature. They take part by cycling in everyday life and logging their distance as part of a collective club-linked team. That gives the activation a different rhythm from most fan engagement formats. It moves the point of contact away from the matchday and into daily routine. This is an inference based on the campaign format described by the club and the city.
What the campaign involves
According to the City of Mönchengladbach, the local campaign runs from 2 to 22 May 2026. The initiative is organised as a 21-day challenge in which teams aim to cover as many kilometres as possible by bicycle, both privately and for work, without CO2 emissions. The city presents the campaign as part of a broader push for cycling, climate protection, and quality of life.
The city also notes that the campaign is part of Klima-Bündnis, a European network of cities, municipalities, and districts focused on climate protection. In Mönchengladbach, teams can come from schools, clubs, companies, politics, and the wider public.
That context matters. Borussia is not creating a standalone sustainability campaign from scratch. Instead, the club is placing its supporters inside an existing local framework with fixed dates, public visibility, and ready-made incentives.
Not a one-off, but a repeated format
This year’s activation is part of a wider pattern. Borussia Mönchengladbach also promoted “Team Borussia” in 2025 and 2024, using the same basic structure of inviting supporters to join the club-branded team and collect kilometres together. That makes the 2026 edition less of an isolated campaign and more of a repeatable supporter format the club has chosen to keep using.
There is also at least one clear participation result from a previous edition. After the 2025 campaign, the club reported that “Team Borussia” consisted of 64 riders who covered a combined 18,101 kilometres. That gives the initiative more weight than a simple sign-up post. It shows that the format produced measurable supporter activity.
The wider local edition also appears to be growing. The City of Mönchengladbach said the 2025 campaign ended with a record result, with well over half a million kilometres ridden collectively and more participants than ever before. For the club, that means the activation sits inside a local platform that already has momentum.
Why the club angle is relevant
What makes this more than a generic CSR item is the way Borussia attaches club identity to a citywide initiative. The team name, the membership focus, and the inclusion of the FPMG Supporters Club give the activation a clear supporter-community dimension. It is not aimed at anonymous participants. It is aimed at people who already belong to the club’s organised fan base.
That changes the role of the campaign. In practice, the club is using a public sustainability format as a fan participation tool. Supporters are encouraged to act together under a shared badge, but without needing a ticket, a match, or even a stadium visit. For clubs looking for low-cost engagement formats, that is the most useful takeaway.
A practical and low-complexity model
The city states that prizes and recognition are part of the structure. Awards are given to the most active cyclists and to teams in categories such as total kilometres, kilometres per participant, and total participant numbers. Additional prizes are also raffled among participants.
From a club perspective, this reduces complexity. The reward system, timeline, and operational framework are already in place. Borussia mainly adds identity, reach, and a supporter-facing entry point. That is one reason the activation stands out. It does not try to do too much.
The broader campaign model also supports that view. The national format is standardized, participation for riders is free, and municipalities can run their own 21-day campaign windows during the annual period. That makes it easier for clubs to return to the same framework year after year.
Part of a wider club pattern
Borussia Mönchengladbach is not alone in using this type of campaign. FC Augsburg, Eintracht Braunschweig, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and 1. FC Nürnberg have also taken part in recent editions, using the framework to promote cycling, sustainability, and community participation. The differences lie in positioning. Some clubs frame the activation more broadly around staff, members, or the wider sports community. Borussia’s version is more clearly built around supporter identity, with “Team Borussia” and the involvement of the FPMG Supporters Club giving the initiative a stronger fan-community angle.
What other clubs can learn
There is no major product layer here. No app launch. No sponsor-heavy entertainment package. No inflated claims about transformation. The value lies in fit.
Borussia Mönchengladbach has taken a local cycling initiative and turned it into a club-branded participation format for supporters. The result is modest but clear. Fans are given a shared activity, the club stays present outside matchday, and the engagement mechanic is based on action rather than attention.
The added background from previous editions strengthens the case. Because the club has returned to the format across multiple years, and because the 2025 edition produced a visible participation output, this looks less like a symbolic CSR mention and more like a small but durable engagement model. That is where the business interest lies.
For mid-sized and upper-mid-sized clubs, that is a relevant point. Fan engagement does not always need to begin with content. In some cases, it begins with structure, timing, and a reason for supporters to do something together.
Sources: Borussia Mönchengladbach
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