Football, bloody hell – but what does it put the body through? Alan Deamer reports from Bielefeld
As third-tier Arminia Bielefeld prepare for the biggest game in their 120-year history, the DFB-Pokal final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion on May 24, German scientists are using this unique occasion to conduct a revolutionary experiment.
With the city of Bielefeld awash with blue, black and white, 300 Arminia fans are being asked to take part in a project devised by the city’s university and Wissenswerkstatt science centre. All they need is a Garmin smartwatch or fitness tracker – and a love of Arminia.
In a joint initiative between these two eminent institutions, researchers aim to track Fanfieber – fan fever – in real time. For the duration of the cup final with three-time winners VfB Stuttgart, participants will be monitored live throughout the match, with data collected on heart rate, stress levels and energy output. Researchers will map these physiological reactions against key moments: a goal, a missed penalty, a red card. The aim is simple – to chart how fans physically experience the rollercoaster of football’s emotional terrain.
It’s a novel approach to an age-old obsession. Football thrives on unpredictability – the build-up, the chaos, the late drama. For many, it’s not just a pastime but a full-body experience. Until now, that experience has mostly been studied anecdotally. This time, it’s being measured.
Sample graphics produced by the research team predict fluctuations in stress and ‘body battery’ throughout the match. If the game goes to penalties, they expect to see peaks rarely recorded in everyday life.
Though previous studies have found slight increases in cardiac events during major tournaments – most notably Germany’s 2014 World Cup final against Argentina – this marks the first time that wearable tech is being used to gather live, match-specific data from fans themselves. If successful, the Bielefeld study could become a blueprint for future explorations into the links between sport, health and emotion.
Following a club is rarely just a weekend ritual. It’s a form of identity, a thread that runs through families, friendships and communities. The highs and lows aren’t merely sporting results – they’re part of how fans live, feel, and connect with one another. And this season, no fanbase has felt those extremes quite like Arminia’s.
It could be argued that Bielefeld’s scientists have already missed the boat. In a cup run strangely echoing the one from a decade ago that gripped the nation, Arminia have beaten near neighbours Hannover, and Bundesliga sides Union Berlin, Freiburg and Werder Bremen, before sending pulse rates off the charts in the semi-final with holders Bayer Leverkusen.
Going 1-0 down early in the game, the hosts reversed the scoreline on half-time before chances at either end put supporters through the wringer after the break. A header by Patrik Schick, so often Bayer’s late saviour, shaved the post and caused Arminia hearts to flutter. Huge relief greeted a wayward strike at the death from Bayer’s Jonathan Tah when the German international might have found it easier to score.
The sweet sound of those three blasts on the referee’s whistle gave rise to unprecedented celebrations at the ground where Arminia have been based for 99 years.
From this week onwards, the team is chasing a unique treble: a 3.Bundesliga title decider at home to Waldhof Mannheim on May 17, the Westphalian cup final with Sportfreunde Lotte on May 29 and, in between that first ever German Cup final on May 24.
Whether or not the stress levels boil over in Berlin, one thing is already clear: Fanfieber is real – and, for the first time, it might just be measurable.
Arminia Bielefeld v Stuttgart, German Cup final, May 24, 8pm, Olympiastadion, Berlin.
