Kiezkicken Gensinger Kiez

Football Tournament in the Middle of the Neighbourhood

Kiezkicken is a classic event in the Gensinger Kiez, a densely populated residential area in Lichtenberg-Mitte, between Friedrichsfelde and Frankfurter Allee. Once a year, a small football tournament takes place on the pitch on Gensinger Straße, where about eight teams from schools, kindergartens, and youth centres meet. The children play for the countries they have drawn – an unofficial mini-European Championship where the encounter is the main focus.

Neighbourhood Festival Around the Pitch

Around the pitch, it transforms into a neighbourhood festival: stalls from local initiatives, small hands-on activities, games, and food and drinks. Families from the surrounding houses, neighbourhood workers, clubs, and schools meet here for a relaxed Saturday in the summer.

Lichtenberg-Mitte District Coordination

The organizer is the Stadtteilkoordination Lichtenberg-Mitte (Lichtenberg-Mitte District Coordination), which has been involved in neighbourhood work in Gensinger Kiez for years. Kiezkicken is one of the most visible events in their annual programme and is part of the larger series "Wir im Kiez" (We in the Neighbourhood), which bundles several dates in the district.

Lichtenberg-Mitte – A Densely Populated Berlin District

Lichtenberg-Mitte is one of Berlin's more densely populated districts – prefabricated buildings from the 1970s and 80s, post-reunification housing blocks, playgrounds, schools, libraries in a small space. Neighbourhood work here has a very concrete function: it creates encounters between families who would otherwise have little contact with each other. Kiezkicken is a good occasion to celebrate this work publicly once a year.