With bright eyes and infectious excitement, a lucky group of 25 children recently accompanied the BSC Young Boys onto the pitch at Wankdorf Stadium for a night game in Bern, Switzerland.
The children of CSL Behring employees won a raffle for the honor of serving as “run-in kids” before the game against Lucerne, who the Young Boys defeated 6-1. Outfitted in yellow Young Boys gear, the children marched on the field alongside the soccer stars – a special moment made possible by CSL Behring’s stadium partnership.
CSL Behring, which makes medicines for rare and serious diseases, has had a longtime presence in Bern, where its manufacturing site is nestled into the neighborhood not far from the stadium. In 2019, CSL Behring acquired naming rights to the stadium, but opted to return the “Stade de Suisse” to its former name: Wankdorf Stadium.
The name was a crowd favorite. A 2014 petition in favor of the name change amassed more than 10,000 signatures. In 1954, a World Cup final there was dubbed “The Miracle of Bern” after the West German team beat heavily favored Hungary in a 3-2 stunner. The rain-soaked game inspired a popular 2003 German film called “The Miracle of Bern.”
