Eintracht Frankfurt

Who are they?

Eintracht Frankfurt e.V is the largest sports club in their region, boasting over 130,000 members and a 125-year history. Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG, represents the flagship Professional Football club and is one of the founding teams of the Bundesliga. The Deutsche Bank Park has been their home for nearly 100 years and serves as the venue for Bundesliga matches and a variety of events, making it one of Germany’s most active and successful arenas.

The Requirements

Eintracht Frankfurt identified a need for a centralised accreditation system that could align with a new operational model in their stadium from July 2020. The club’s digitisation efforts, including the introduction of WLAN and a mobile payment system, triggered the need for an accreditation system. Their aim was also to enhance security and safety measures while providing a convenient and efficient system for personnel management.

The key requirements of the new system included access control of authorised persons such as employees of Eintracht Frankfurt and its subsidiaries, security services, caterers, press and media, and external service providers.

The accreditation system needed to have the flexibility and scalability to support various event formats such as Bundesliga matches, international matches, other sporting events, concerts and music festivals, business events and trade fairs.

Being a multi-event venue, there was a requirement for different types of accreditation including permanent accreditations (seasonal), daily accreditations (event-specific), and pool accreditations for external service providers.

The application and approval process needed to be digitalised for all events, with a centralised database to ensure a uniform application and a multi-level approval process.

The accreditation badge design required photo ID for visual verification, and to be compatible with electronic access control systems. The physical badges needed to be warerproof and tear-resistant material.

Our Approach

Eintracht Frankfurt were Accredit’s first German client, with a system that required to have both front end and back-end functions in German, so in our initial meetings a Phased approach to delivering the system was set in plan.

The required end to end process was mapped out starting with the core functionality of the system for the processing of Eintracht Frankfurt Football Matchday staff data with German front facing forms, then to the integration with Eintracht’s Access control system and Badging solution, through to the translation of the back end of the system into German.

Through a combination of the Matchday expertise of the Eintracht Operations staff and Accredits experience of delivering accreditation systems for Major Stadiums and Football Clubs a state-of-the-art, digital accreditation solution was to be developed that met the high requirements of the stadium as a multifunctional arena for various types of events.

With the Deutsche Bank Park being the premier destination for Major Events in the region, the capability of analogous handling of different complex events had to be guaranteed.

The new system is intended to digitalize and simplify processes, improve the security operation, and create greater transparency.

As part of this operation Accredit addressed how short-term requests for different types of events can be processed digitally, efficiently, and securely.

The Benefits

The implementation of the new accreditation system brought several benefits:

• Efficiency:

  • Digital processes to reduce manual effort and resources

  • Streamlined application and approval workflows

• Flexibility:

  • Adaptable to the dynamic needs of various events

  • Quick issuance of accreditations for short-notice requirements

• Security:

  • Enhanced security features preventing unauthorised access

  • Real-time monitoring ensured transparency and enabled proactive and reactive updates to access control

The Results

The successful implementation of the digital accreditation system has resulted in:

• Improved Processes:

  • Digitalised and simplified accreditation processes

  • Efficient handling of short-term requests for different event types

• Enhanced Security Concept:

  • Integration of security features for visual and electronic verification

  • Improved monitoring capabilities for better control

• Greater Transparency:

  • Real-time tracking of personnel movements

  • Centralised data platform for comprehensive oversight

In conclusion, Eintracht Frankfurt’s commitment to a modern accreditation system has not only met the specific requirements but has also ushered in a new era of efficiency, flexibility, and security in managing access to the stadium for diverse events. Eintracht Frankfurt now uses Accredit Media’s front facing platform for all Media accreditation at Matches. It seamlessly links into their accreditation system creating a powerful Media portal to facilitate quick and easy application and accreditation for the media that also is in line with the DFL and DFB’s media accreditation requirements.