The history of Schalke FanClub UK

This ordinary life of a Schalke fan took a significant turn in August 2009.
I was clearing out some old copies of the club magazine, Schalker Kreisel, and listed them on eBay. The buyer of one of the issues turned out to be a gentleman from England—Greg L. from Hull. During the transaction, we began corresponding via email, and he mentioned that he had been following Schalke on television for some time; it was their Champions League appearances that first drew his attention to this "working-class" club from Gelsenkirchen.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup had also brought the stadium into the global football spotlight. Greg’s goal was to visit the arena for a Schalke match. I warned him that obtaining tickets was extremely difficult, but I promised to do my best to secure one. I eventually managed to get a ticket for the match against Wolfsburg in October 2009. After vetting Greg—checking into his background, family, and personal life—we arranged for me to pick him up at Weeze Airport, with the plan that he would stay at my home. In addition to plenty of sightseeing around the Ruhr region, we visited the arena, where we witnessed a 1–2 defeat against Wolfsburg, who would go on to become German champions that season. Despite the result, Greg was absolutely thrilled by the arena, the Schalke community, and the atmosphere. On the drive back to the airport, it was already decided that he would return to Germany in February 2010 for the derby. He had well and truly caught the "Schalke bug."

A Derby Victory with Consequences

(Schalker Kreisel 2010)

February 2010. Greg Leoni, from Hull in central England, was visiting Gelsenkirchen and witnessed Schalke’s hard-fought 2–1 derby victory over BVB. In the final stages of the match, Rakitić scored the much-celebrated winning goal right in front of us. Overwhelmed by the atmosphere in the arena and intoxicated by the win, the decision was made: a Schalke fan club had to be established in the birthplace of football—as, supposedly, no "Royal Blue" fan group existed there yet.

After thoroughly examining all the formal requirements for such a fan club—with typical German attention to detail—the decision was finalized: we would found a "Schalke Fan Club United Kingdom." The objective was to create a hub for as many Schalke supporters as possible across England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Naturally, German founding members were involved from the very start; our goal was to welcome any German Schalke fans—united by the spirit of international understanding—into our fan club. This also ensured that any language barriers between the fans and the club could be bridged with ease.

The fan club’s name, its flag (a royal-blue Union Jack), its official business address (Hull, England), and its working language (English) were all established in line with our core philosophy.

In November 2009, we launched a "Schalke UK" community on Facebook with five founding members. It quickly became clear that the internet—and the Facebook platform in particular—would play a pivotal role in the fan club’s operations.

Furthermore, having an independent online hub was considered essential. Alongside our Facebook presence, we developed and launched a professional website for the fan club.

In April 2010, the Schalke Fan Club UK was officially registered with the Schalke Fan Club Association (Schalker Fanclubverband) under membership number 1063, with 15 members.

In a relatively short time, the fan club’s membership grew to nearly 60. Affordable membership fees and proactive public relations efforts brought the new fan club into the spotlight of the "royal-blue" world.