The city was called “Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben“ which means as much as „City oft he KdF- car” where KdF was the planned name of Volkswagen Beetle at the time. In 1945 the city was named Wolfsburg. Many smaller villages which still are a part of Wolfsburg as districts were absorbed by Wolfsburg. In 1938 the circle of cities which later would form the foundation for Wolfsburg only had 857 inhabitants.
In 1948 the city already planned for 35.000 inhabitants which soon would be reached. The city grew 3500% in 7 years. All those people were workers which came from all over the republic just to work for Volkswagen, therefore the identification with the city was rather low. Everyone had his own roots and a lot of people just came for the work and stayed for the work. The city grew with the success of Volkswagen which never really stopped.
In the 70s around 5000 Italians which originally came as “Gastarbeiter” populated the city even further. Italians still make out the biggest number out of all the nationalities you find in Wolfsburg. The Italians also take care of their traditions and they especially take a lot of pride in their football teams since this is one of the things which connects them to the country they were born in.
Now Wolfsburg has more than 120.000 inhabitants, but the number is constantly sinking because the city isn't able to sustain them. People who are born in Wolfsburg have two options, they either stay in Wolfsburg and try to land a job at Volkswagen or they go into another city which offers more in regards to everyday and social life since Wolfsburg can’t offer much when you’re young and want to go out. It’s basically a city to work in, not a city to live in.
All that together has a big impact on how many fans the VfL is able to gather. There are no people who have deep roots in Wolfsburg. People simply don’t identify with the city because it basically became the city it originally was planned as. It’s the city of Volkswagen. Many people only came because of the work, immigrants want to stay true to their roots and the handful of people who really feel as a “Wolfsburger” are rare. They also build the core of the Wolfsburg Ultras, it’s a small community with maybe 200-400 people who build the foundation of the fan culture. Compared to other football clubs that’s just laughable. Even teams in the third division can gather more support for their team than Wolfsburg because the people who live there have a relation to their club. Here the VfL is just an extension of your workplace. An advertisement for the company you already work for. 60% of the population also works in a three shifts at the plant which on top of it all controls the everyday life.
It will be very hard for the VfL to gather more support if it’s even possible to begin with. You won’t get people like me to support the club even if I live in the city. The younger folks are seeking adventure in neighboring cities or in Berlin and the rest are the same people who live and work here for their whole lives. It won’t change no matter how much success the VfL has. The club lacks character and history, two things you simply can’t buy. And the city lacks people who have roots which go deeper than eighty years.

The city was called “Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben“ which means as much as „City oft he KdF- car” where KdF was the planned name of Volkswagen Beetle at the time. In 1945 the city was named Wolfsburg. Many smaller villages which still are a part of Wolfsburg as districts were absorbed by Wolfsburg. In 1938 the circle of cities which later would form the foundation for Wolfsburg only had 857 inhabitants.
In 1948 the city already planned for 35.000 inhabitants which soon would be reached. The city grew 3500% in 7 years. All those people were workers which came from all over the republic just to work for Volkswagen, therefore the identification with the city was rather low. Everyone had his own roots and a lot of people just came for the work and stayed for the work. The city grew with the success of Volkswagen which never really stopped.
In the 70s around 5000 Italians which originally came as “Gastarbeiter” populated the city even further. Italians still make out the biggest number out of all the nationalities you find in Wolfsburg. The Italians also take care of their traditions and they especially take a lot of pride in their football teams since this is one of the things which connects them to the country they were born in.
Now Wolfsburg has more than 120.000 inhabitants, but the number is constantly sinking because the city isn't able to sustain them. People who are born in Wolfsburg have two options, they either stay in Wolfsburg and try to land a job at Volkswagen or they go into another city which offers more in regards to everyday and social life since Wolfsburg can’t offer much when you’re young and want to go out. It’s basically a city to work in, not a city to live in.
All that together has a big impact on how many fans the VfL is able to gather. There are no people who have deep roots in Wolfsburg. People simply don’t identify with the city because it basically became the city it originally was planned as. It’s the city of Volkswagen. Many people only came because of the work, immigrants want to stay true to their roots and the handful of people who really feel as a “Wolfsburger” are rare. They also build the core of the Wolfsburg Ultras, it’s a small community with maybe 200-400 people who build the foundation of the fan culture. Compared to other football clubs that’s just laughable. Even teams in the third division can gather more support for their team than Wolfsburg because the people who live there have a relation to their club. Here the VfL is just an extension of your workplace. An advertisement for the company you already work for. 60% of the population also works in a three shifts at the plant which on top of it all controls the everyday life.
It will be very hard for the VfL to gather more support if it’s even possible to begin with. The younger folks are seeking adventure in neighboring cities or in Berlin and the rest are the same people who live and work here for their whole lives. It won’t change no matter how much success the VfL has. The club lacks character and history, two things you simply can’t buy. And the city lacks people who have roots which go deeper than eighty years.

The city was called “Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben“ which means as much as "City of the KdF- car” where KdF was the planned name of Volkswagen Beetle at the time. In 1945 the city was named Wolfsburg. Many smaller villages which still are a part of Wolfsburg as districts were absorbed by Wolfsburg. In 1938 the circle of cities which later would form the foundation for Wolfsburg only had 857 inhabitants.
In 1948 the city already planned for 35.000 inhabitants which soon would be reached. The city grew 3500% in 7 years. All those people were workers which came from all over the republic just to work for Volkswagen, therefore the identification with the city was rather low. Everyone had his own roots and a lot of people just came for the work and stayed for the work. The city grew with the success of Volkswagen which never really stopped.
In the 70s around 5000 Italians which originally came as “Gastarbeiter” populated the city even further. Italians still make out the biggest number out of all the nationalities you find in Wolfsburg. The Italians also take care of their traditions and they especially take a lot of pride in their football teams since this is one of the things which connects them to the country they were born in.
Now Wolfsburg has more than 120.000 inhabitants, but the number is constantly sinking because the city isn't able to sustain them. People who are born in Wolfsburg have two options, they either stay in Wolfsburg and try to land a job at Volkswagen or they go into another city which offers more in regards to everyday and social life since Wolfsburg can’t offer much when you’re young and want to go out. It’s basically a city to work in, not a city to live in.
All that together has a big impact on how many fans the VfL is able to gather. There are no people who have deep roots in Wolfsburg. People simply don’t identify with the city because it basically became the city it originally was planned as. It’s the city of Volkswagen. Many people only came because of the work, immigrants want to stay true to their roots and the handful of people who really feel as a “Wolfsburger” are rare. They also build the core of the Wolfsburg Ultras, it’s a small community with maybe 200-400 people who build the foundation of the fan culture. Compared to other football clubs that’s just laughable. Even teams in the third division can gather more support for their team than Wolfsburg because the people who live there have a relation to their club. Here the VfL is just an extension of your workplace. An advertisement for the company you already work for. 60% of the population also works in a three shifts at the plant which on top of it all controls the everyday life.
It will be very hard for the VfL to gather more support if it’s even possible to begin with. The younger folks are seeking adventure in neighboring cities or in Berlin and the rest are the same people who live and work here for their whole lives. It won’t change no matter how much success the VfL has. The club lacks character and history, two things you simply can’t buy. And the city lacks people who have roots which go deeper than eighty years.