Soccer Fanzine Twelve

Since May 22, a new soccer magazine called *Zwölf* has been gracing newsstand shelves. The magazine is made by fans for fans and focuses on soccer culture and everything that happens off the field, as opposed to just facts and figures.Zwölf is the name of the new soccer fanzine, «because eleven isn’t always enough,» as the press release states. Around 70 journalists, media professionals, and passionate soccer fans from all over Switzerland are contributing to this non-commercial project. Anyone interested only in standings and their idols’ lactate levels is in the wrong place with “Zwölf,” since that kind of information is readily available online. The fanzine is much more about soccer culture, what happens on the sidelines, and the fans themselves.
The financial framework is provided by the «Association for Soccer Culture,» which was founded specifically for this purpose. With an initial print run of 5,000 copies and a bimonthly publication schedule, Zwölf is starting small but has big plans for the future. True to the motto ’Independence instead of a publishing house,« every franc earned is reinvested directly back into the magazine. In anticipation of Euro 2008, Zwölf is in close contact with a European network of independent soccer magazines. Together with its Austrian counterpart, Ballersterer, a special issue on Euro 2008 is in the works.