Wild scenes as thousands of St Pauli fans storm the pitch as German cult club seal promotion to the Bundesliga

Incredible scenes unfolded in Hamburg on Sunday as cult German club St Pauli were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in 13 years.

Supporters brandishing flares and wearing skulls were seen in their thousands in the streets before the match, then invaded the pitch seconds after the final whistle which marked their return to the top flight.

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Although a significant event in German football, there is also some interest in the English side, with London winger Dapo Afolayan scoring twice in the 3-1 win over VfL Osnabruck at the Millerntor Stadion to ensure its promotion.

Afolayan spent time at Chelsea’s academy before his family moved to Canada when he was a young boy, but he was then signed by West Ham upon their return to the UK, making only one appearance for the Hammers – in the FA Cup, where he also scored. a goal – before joining Bolton and then being signed by St Pauli in January 2023.

The 26-year-old has had a superb season in the second tier of the German pyramid, scoring ten goals and three assists in 33 games in all competitions, and will now find himself playing top-level football next season for the first time in his career.

But the party started long before he set foot on the pitch on Sunday, as around 5,000 fans gathered in the streets leading to the stadium before kick-off.

Flags and banners were waved, smoke billowed from lit rockets and the sound of thousands of voices joining together to sing “St Pauli” was heard in spine-chilling scenes in the Hamburg district, as They jumped up and down in unison in a Poznan-style dance.

Given that they were facing a team that was bottom of the table and already relegated, with Osnabruck having only won five games all season, the St Pauli supporters were quite confident of getting at least the point they needed to get a promotion.

And the party atmosphere quickly spread from the streets to the stands, with supporters heard loud and clear everywhere.

But it really kicked off when the referee blew a final whistle, as thousands of fans rushed onto the pitch from all four sides of the stadium, filling it in seconds, as they celebrated with their players on team’s return to the Bundesliga. for the first time since 2011.

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And there was also reason to celebrate further, having managed to return to the top flight ahead of arch-rivals Hamburg.

The three-time Bundesliga champions and former European Cup winners suffered a calamitous fall from grace and were relegated in 2019.

They currently sit fourth in Bundesliga 2 with one game remaining, but are unable to clinch third place and a place in the promotion play-offs, meaning they have resigned themselves to another season of second-tier football level.

The 2024/25 campaign will be St Pauli’s ninth in the German standings, with promotion following a consecutive fifth place finish in Bundesliga 2.

Fabian Hurzeler’s side have been in the top two since matchday seven and have also achieved a division record of 25 games unbeaten during the campaign.

St Pauli have been promoted to the Bundesliga five times before, but never as champions, and they can win their first ever Bundesliga 2 title if they match or better rival club Holstein Kiel’s result on the final day of the season .

Their return to the top flight is also good news for Bolton Wanderers, with manager Ian Evatt confirming earlier this year that the League One club would make a “substantial” payment as part of the £500,000 deal which taken Afolayan from Lancashire to Germany in January 2023.