Founded in 2023 to provide playing opportunity for African footballers in Berlin, Motherland Berlin SC has achieved a third consecutive promotion. A 10-1 final-day win and an unbeaten season kept founder Daniel Olasanmiju’s ambitious dream alive.
Motherland Berlin SC needed to win by at least a nine-goal margin to secure second spot on the table and gain promotion to the Kreisliga B (Men’s District League B) of the Berlin Football League on Sunday.
And they did it with aplomb as they defeated the 16th-placed Berlin Kickers 10-1 (4-0 at half time). Four second half goals from the league’s top scorer Henry Melli sealed a comfortable but unnerving victory that set them up for promotion for the third straight year since they were founded by Nigerian tech worker Daniel Olasanmiju.
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The final day drama was heightened due to the top of the table clash between Hertha BSC IV and BSV Victoria Friedrichshain III that ended 0-0 and ensured that Motherland finished the season unbeaten and in second place behind Hertha.
The Top 5 Kreisliga C table for the 2025/26 season. Source: www.fussball.de
Hertha finished with 75 points, one ahead of both Motherland and Victoria Friedrichshain. But Motherland’s superior goals difference of 104 to 94 edged second spot in their favour as they snatched the promotion ticket.
Holding their breaths
The celebrations were muted at full time, as they awaited the result from the other game that had been stopped due to adverse weather. Berlin’s June rains are incessant.
But they soon broke out into celebration of their own after they were told that the result was enough to secure promotion. Founder Olasanmiju and his back-room staff savoured the moment with the players.
“You should all be proud of this moment, what you have done is unprecedented,” sporting director Oladele Olorunsola told the team. “Thank you all.”
Huddled in a circle at the Sportplatz Kokswiese in the Gesundbrunnen district, the team celebrated the departure of Henry Melli, who finished the season as top scorer with 44 goals,
and player-team manager Adedeji Adejumo, both members of the team from its founding.
Both were handed memorial photo frames of their time in the yellow and black of the Motherland Berlin team.
Africa united in Berlin
Motherland Berlin SC was founded by Olasanmiju in 2023 as a collective vehicle to give Africans in Berlin an opportunity to play competitive football.
The team is captained by South African Benedict Mpofu. There are three Ghanaians, two Cameroonians, two South Africans, an Eritrean and several Nigerians in the squad.
Having started from the bottom of the Berlin league system and gaining promotion every year since, Olasanmiju’s vision is to one day lead the team to the top division of German football, the Bundesliga.
Though it might seem like a long journey, each season’s progress counts for Olasanmiju and the team whose shared football vision is bringing young Africans together in the German capital.
