Press Release

Braunschweig, September 26, 2025. The selection this year was also made with Dennis Schröder on the panel, the newly crowned European basketball champion and one of the most successful and popular athletes of the moment: starting in January 2026, Volkswagen Financial Services (VW FS) will be providing financial support to 36 young athletes, as well as two teams, from across the state of Lower Saxony. This makes one of the largest youth sports promotion programs in the state bigger than ever before, entering its fourth round with a record number of talents being sponsored. The maximum amount of funding available is EUR 25,000 for individuals and EUR 50,000 for teams.

The young top athletes, aged between 13 and 24, had applied for support from the Volkswagen Group's financial and mobility services provider. The talents were then selected by a distinguished jury that included basketball star Schröder, the former goalkeeper in Germany's women's national football team and now ARD television expert Almuth Schult, the four-time Olympic champion and eight-time world champion in rowing Kathrin Boron, and Manfred Kehm, Head of Competitive Sports Promotion at the Lower Saxony Sports Association (LSB). Representing the company, Frank Fiedler, Management Board Member for Risk, Tax and Legal Affairs at Volkswagen Financial Services, Kai Vogler, CEO of Volkswagen Financial Services Overseas AG, and Volker Stadler, Chair of the Management Board of Volkswagen Bank, also sat on the selection committee. They had a tough choice to make – a total of 109 applications had been submitted to VW FS.

"It's extremely important to get involved and support young people. I want to show these talented young athletes that they're not on their own. From Braunschweig, we want to send out a strong signal for the promotion of young talent," said Dennis Schröder, explaining why he joined the VW FS jury this year. The Braunschweig-born world and European basketball champion will be playing in the North American professional league NBA for the Sacramento Kings in the upcoming season. His advice to young athletes: "Hard work pays off. Build routines and get one percent better every day." 

His fellow jury member Almuth Schult noted: "It's always a pleasure to get to know new individuals and new forms of sport while working for the VW FS youth promotion program." What does she look for in the young talents? "Athletic performance and also personality are important, because you can only be truly assertive if you have personality." And Kathrin Boron added: "Support at a young age is essential for athletic development. That's why I'm proud to be part of the VW FS youth program." Her advice to young talents: "Be courageous and set bold goals."

VW FS Board Member Frank Fiedler has been a jury member for the program from the very beginning. He welcomed the fact that more than half of the selected talents have already been supported in previous years and pointed out: "Priority is generally given to existing talents. We want to accompany them over the long term."

Once again, the diversity of sports supported in the 2026 funding year is broad: track and field is most strongly represented, but there are also athletes from gymnastics, hockey, swimming, judo, artistic roller skating, ice hockey, tennis, badminton, basketball, Jujutsu, alpine skiing, baseball, kitesurfing, and sport climbing. For the first time, VW FS is sponsoring an internationally successful lifeguard – Timo Zembold from the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) in Lüneburg. 

The company is also giving financial backing to four athletes with disabilities, namely Laura Burbulla and Phil Grolla (both para track and field) from Wolfsburg and Sören Seebold (wheelchair basketball) and Hermine Krumbein (para rowing) from Braunschweig. Burbulla and Grolla have been part of the "VW FS squad" since the program's launch in 2022 and even competed at the Paralympic Games in Paris just over a year ago.  

These athletes and teams will be supported by VW FS:

Existing talents further sponsored: 

Anna Monta Olek (judo), Judo-Team Hannover
Fabian Schönke (triathlon), RSC Lüneburg
Florian Kroll (track and field), LG Osnabrück  
Hannah Sofie Loist (ice hockey), Young Grizzlys Wolfsburg
Jasper Pippig (golf), Golfclub Hannover e.V.
Jonas Körner (sport climbing), Deutscher Alpenverein Sektion Braunschweig
Team: Kanu-Club Limmer (canoe racing)
Kristin Raddatz (Jujutsu), VfL Westercelle
Lasse von Freier (sport climbing), Alpin Club Hannover
Laura Burbulla (para track and field), VfL Wolfsburg 
Laura-Dominika Milos (table tennis), MTV Engelbostel-Schulenburg
Luys Calin (tennis), MTV Braunschweig
Maira Banko (basketball), TK Hannover
Marcel Meyer (track and field), Hannover 96
Max Henri Hermann (artistic gymnastics), TSV Buchholz 
Phil Grolla (para track and field), VfL Wolfsburg
Ricarda Zander (artistic roller skating), VfL Wolfsburg
Sören Seebold (wheelchair basketball), Hannover United
Team: SSG Braunschweig (swimming)
Svea Funck (track and field), TV Jahn Walsrode
Tim Kalies (track and field), LG Braunschweig

New talents sponsored from January 1, 2026: 

Kaya Lehmann (kitesurfing), Cuxkiters e.V.
Franka Rust (triathlon), RSC Lüneburg
Helena Marie Klintschar (alpine skiing), Skiclub Bad Grund
Theda Langelüddecke (aerobic gymnastics), MTV Wolfenbüttel
Arne Heers (vaulting), RV Hülsen and RFS Oldenburg 
Amelie Sonka (volleyball), GfL Hannover
Thorben Perry Bloem (sport climbing), Deutscher Alpenverein Sektion Braunschweig
Tom Stephan (track and field), TV Lilienthal 
Jan Plewka (track and field), TSV Germania Helmstedt 
Thorben Finke (track and field), SV Sögel 
Charlotte Burgdorf (rowing), Segler-Verein-Großenheidorn
Tamina Heller (track and field), TV Langen
Hermine Krumbein (para rowing), RK Normannia Braunschweig 
Theodor Godawa (Jujutsu), VfL Westercelle
Timo Zembold (lifesaving), DLRG Lüneburg 
Jonathan Strübing (baseball), Braunschweig 89ers/ SV Lindenberg 
Theodor Belhustede (field hockey), Braunschweiger THC

More information (in German) is available at sporttalente.vwfs.com.

Volkswagen Financial Services AG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and, as part of Volkswagen Group Mobility, manages the European financial and mobility services business. The aim of Volkswagen Financial Services AG is to support the sales of the Volkswagen Group brands and increase customer loyalty. The company is a longstanding partner of the dealership network – as a provider of financial services and as an aide and advisor. Its core products include vehicle leasing and financing, insurance, and other vehicle-related mobility products – both for private customers and for individual commercial customers and fleet customers. Through its subsidiary, Volkswagen Bank GmbH, Volkswagen Financial Services AG is also active in the direct banking sector. More information available at www.vwfs.com.