Since summer 2021, the Deutsche Telekom is exclusive Telecommuncation and Technology Partner at 1. FC Köln. Since 2018, 1. FC Köln have been supporting selected Start-ups as part of the Start-up Programme, the 1. FC Köln Hype Spin Accelerator. Telekom have also been promoting Start-ups and dealing with a similarly intensive programme about innovation transfer in the areas of 5G, AI technology and the Internet of Things. Alongside FC, Telekom and the club are supporting the 5G Co:Creation Lab at the TH Köln, in which students can try out and test their Start-up ideas. 

“We are very pleased that our still young partnership with 1. FC Köln, in the first year, we are able to celebrate such a highlight with the Telekom Cup,” said Klaus Werner, Financial Managing Director, Telekom Deutschland GmbH. “We will make technically innovative solutions, under the motto of ‘be there’, available to the fans. Our partnership with 1. FC Köln is something both sides will fill with life.”