Walther Bensemann (13 January 1873 – 12 November 1934) was a German pioneer of football and founder of the country's major sports publication, ''

Kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

''. Bensemann was born in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

, as the son of a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish banker. During his time at private school in

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxi ...

, Switzerland, he learned about the new sport of football. When he moved to

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the German States of Germany, state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital o ...

in order to complete his school-leavers' exam, he began to spread the sport around the German Empire. There, in September 1889, he founded the ''International Football Club'', the first football club in southern Germany, and two years later he was instrumental in the founding of

Karlsruher FV Karlsruher FV is a German association football club that plays in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. Established on 17 November 1891, KFV was a founding member of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball-Bund) in 1900 and is the oldest ...

, one of the first champion clubs in Germany. He was also involved in the creation of ''Frankfurter Kickers'', who would later become

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

. In 1900 he belonged to the founding-fathers of the

German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system ...

. Bensemann thought of football as a means of international understanding, so he started to organize international matches such as the ones between selections of

Lausanne Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

and southern Germany in 1893. Consequently, this also led to the five historical matches between selections from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

between 1899 and 1901, which albeit not having any official status, are considered the historically first international matches of any German national side. In 1920, Bensemann founded ''

'', which evolved soon into Germany's leading football magazine, a status which it retains until today. In 1933, the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

Machtergreifung Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

'' in Germany compelled Benseman to move to Montreux where he died soon, relatively unnoticed and without means.

Walther Bensemann Prize

The German academy for football culture gives the Walther Bensemann prize every year toWalther Bensemann Preis
/ref> a person for extraordinary dedication with courage and a pioneering spirit, for social responsibility, fairplay, intercultural understanding in and around football. It was given amongst others to

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the f ...

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World C ...

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional football player and manager, who led the Italian national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and ...

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all ti ...

References

External links

* 1873 births 1934 deaths People from the Province of Brandenburg German footballers Association football midfielders Karlsruher FV players Eintracht Frankfurt players Footballers from Berlin Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to France German footballers needing infoboxes {{Germany-footy-midfielder-stub