There’s a lot going on around the pitch at Zueblin Park FC. Behind one goal sits a multi-storey car park. Nearby, people are skateboarding, heading to bars or going about their day in Stuttgart’s Leonhardsviertel. Somewhere among it all, a five-a-side game is taking place.
That mix was what caught José-Alex Ikeng’s attention when he first came down. A small group of people were already playing regularly, and while the games were informal, he could see the beginnings of something bigger. “I immediately saw the potential,” he says. “The place, the personalities, the whole atmosphere. Something just clicked.”
Ikeng had spent more than a decade playing professional football, turning out for clubs including VfB Stuttgart and Werder Bremen. The game had taken him to different cities and into dressing rooms full of people from different backgrounds.
At Zueblin, he recognised something familiar: football bringing people together and giving them a reason to get to know one another. His reference point, though, came from another sport altogether. He thought of New York’s Rucker Park, the basketball court where local players and some of the game’s biggest names have shared the same space.
What if this little pitch in Stuttgart could have a character and community of its own? Ikeng began taking photographs, documenting the games and introducing some structure: regular playing days, a set of rules and a name borrowed from the Züblin car park behind the pitch. Zueblin Park FC started to take shape.
Today, the games bring together doctors, lawyers, former footballers and current professionals, alongside younger and older players from across the city. There’s no membership or entry fee. The format is five-a-side, winner stays on, and the invitation is straightforward: come down, play and respect the people around you.
For Ikeng, who also runs STRIVE and works across sport, fashion and culture, Zueblin is an opportunity to pass on what he’s learned from the game. But he’s just as interested in what happens after the final whistle: the friendships, collaborations and ideas that come from people meeting on the pitch.
We caught up with him to talk about building a community, the character of Leonhardsviertel and what he hopes Zueblin Park FC can become.
Let’s start from the beginning. What did you see in the pitch when you first came down?
There was already a small group of guys and girls playing regularly. It was quite unorganised, but I immediately saw the potential. The place, the personalities, the whole atmosphere. Something just clicked. I knew Rucker Park in New York, where local players and some of the biggest names in basketball would come together. That was the reference in my head. I looked at this little football pitch in Stuttgart and thought, “we have to document this”.
How did you turn it into Zueblin Park FC?
I started taking photos, documenting the games, introducing rules and setting regular days to play. Then we gave it a name and started building a community around it. The name comes from the Züblin car park right behind our pitch. It was a combination of the place itself and the inspiration I took from Rucker Park.
What does a typical game look like?
It’s five-a-side, winner stays on. The old street football rules. You’ll find all kinds of people playing together: doctors, lawyers, former footballers. Current professional players come down and join in too. There’s no membership fee, no entry fee. You just have to respect the people and follow the rules. People want to win, and the games can get competitive, but everyone is welcome. That’s the whole point.
How much does the area around the pitch shape the club?
The Leonhardsviertel is a very particular place. It’s known as Stuttgart’s red-light district, but you also have bars, an old church, this huge car park, people living there, people going out. And right there, you have us playing football and people skateboarding. Everything comes together in a very small space. There’s so much character, both in the place and in the people. You can’t really separate Zueblin Park FC from that. It’s part of who we are.
What have you seen come from people meeting through the games?
We have people who make rap music, photographers, videographers. Some have started working together after meeting through the games. Friendships have become really close. We organise events together, have Christmas parties and spend time together away from football. We’ve even had people meet through the community and become a couple. I think that’s a beautiful thing. You come down to play football and end up meeting someone who becomes such a big part of your life.
Creativity seems to be a big part of Zueblin, too. Was that always the intention?
Football, music and fashion are all part of my life, so naturally they influence how I see ZUEBLIN Park FC. From the beginning, I wanted to document the people and the atmosphere properly. There are so many personalities here, and I want people to see that. We’re working on a portrait series called ‘If I hadn’t injured my knee…’. It starts with that football story everybody knows, then gets into the actual person behind it.
You also brought football and skateboarding together for Common Ground with Arrow & Beast and PUMA. How did that come about?
The connection already existed. Some of the skaters play football with us, and there’s a skate area right next to our pitch. We were already sharing the same space. So I thought, why don’t we put on a day together? Football and skateboarding happening side by side, bringing everyone into it. The shared ground was literally already there.
What’s been the hardest part of building the community?
You bring together so many personalities, cultures, religions and ways of seeing things. Of course there are going to be misunderstandings and disagreements. You try to do right by everyone, but you won’t always manage it. People come and go. Sometimes the community is bigger and really active, sometimes it’s smaller and quieter. Keeping a balance through all of that, listening to people and still seeing the bigger picture — I think that’s the hardest part.
And what would you like Zueblin Park FC to become?
I want it to be a platform where people in the community can show what they do and actively shape what we do together. Someone might make music, take photos, shoot films or have an idea we haven’t even thought of yet. I’d love for them to feel they can bring that into this and make something happen.
