Dortmund offer free 'balls' check-ups ahead of Mainz fixture to help battle testicular cancer

Martin Macdonald

• 15 Feb 2026 03:01 CST
• 6 min read

Nieuws

Borussia Dortmund are doing their part in the battle against testicular cancer.

Each year, around 70 men die from testicular cancer in the United Kingdom, while in Germany the average per year is higher.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 men are diagnosed with this type of cancer each year in Germany and BVB ushered in a new initiative that allowed their supporters to have their testicles checked prior to the home match against Mainz on Friday evening.

"Together with FAQ YOU, BVB is sending a strong signal against testicular cancer: When the stadium opens its gates from 6 p.m., you have the opportunity to get a quick and uncomplicated check-up in one of four screening tents by urologists from the Dortmund University Hospital," a social media post explained.

Here's a neat FAQ provided on the Dortmund website:

Who is the biggest risk group?

Testicular cancer most often occurs in men between 15 and 35. An age group that usually does not expect cancer or can be examined for it.

Can active or athletic people get sick from it?

Yes. Testicular cancer is not related to physical fit-ness. The main risk factors are age, family history, and genetic predisposition - not your lifestyle.

🩺 Gemeinsam mit FAQ YOU setzt der BVB ein starkes Zeichen gegen Hodenkrebs: Wenn das Stadion ab 18 Uhr seine Tore öffnet, habt Ihr die Möglichkeit, Euch in einem von vier Vorsorgezelten von Urologen der Dortmunder Uniklinik schnell und unkompliziert untersuchen zu lassen. ✊ pic.twitter.com/Nf2Zkjj6s1

— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) February 13, 2026

Is testicular cancer curable?

With early detection, the chances of survival are over 99%. Testicular cancer is very easy to treat with modern medical methods.

Is pain a symptom?

The most common early symptoms are a painless swelling or a lump. Therefore, waiting for pain can unnecessarily delay the diagnosis.

What do I do if I discover a knot?

Make an appointment with your urologist as soon as possible. As a rule, an ultrasound examination of the scrotum and simple blood tests are first carried out.

Does the statutory health insurance cover the costs?

Yes, in the case of knots or swelling, the statutory health insurance covers the complete costs for the appointment with the urologist, the ultrasound ex-amination, blood tests and, if necessary, further treatments.

Sebastien Haller's story

Back in 2022, BVB announced that their centre-forward Sebastien Haller had been diagnosed with a testicular tumour during pre-season and that came just a month after his €31m switch from Ajax.

He underwent two surgeries and four rounds of chemotherapy before returning to football the following January.

Bsr tt le monde je tenais à vs informé que la 1er Étape a été accomplie!
Je tiens à remercié être le @BVB et l’équipe médical qui ont été exceptionnel ac moi. Un grand merci également à tt le personnel soignant de l’hôpital pour leur accompagnement - bienveillance 🙏🏽💪🏾#step1 pic.twitter.com/jr1G7ILYZI

— Sébastien Haller (@HallerSeb) July 21, 2022

Reflecting on the days surrounding the diagnosis, he said in October of 2022:

"The summer got off to a great start: we won the league with Ajax, then I went on holiday. I celebrated my birthday, my niece’s christening and had a great holiday. There was my transfer too – I was surrounded by good vibes. Dortmund invested a lot of money in me, I was determined to show what I was capable of and was eager to get going. Then everything just stopped overnight.

"It started, from what I can remember, with a pain in my stomach while I was away with the Ivorian team on 31 May. I took medicine for three or four days and it went away, but then I started feeling like I had the flu straight after, so I spent my entire time with the national team feeling ill. I felt better once I got back home, but since it first happened, I could feel a little niggle slightly below my stomach, behind my abdominals. It was annoying, but it wasn't really painful, I suffered from indigestion at times, and I felt bloated.

"Seeing as I was on holiday, I just thought it would go away, but this little niggle refused to go anywhere, so I started wondering if it could be a hernia or something like that and I asked my osteopath to check.

"I went to Dortmund a couple of times in the meantime, thinking it wouldn’t be anything serious, but it still wouldn’t go away. My osteopath told me to go for an ultrasound scan, as it could be a hernia or something similar.

"Then I met up with the Dortmund squad for our pre-season training camp in Switzerland, and I asked to go for a scan; five minutes later, it was done, and I could feel some pressure behind my abdominals, so we decided to go for an MRI scan the following morning. Immediately after the MRI, I was told that there was a tumour there, but we didn’t know if it was a benign or malignant one yet. I went to training, then when I came back, I was told to see a urologist to get a second opinion.

"It took him approximately ten seconds to confirm that it was a tumour. He grabbed the scan, placed it on my testicles and we had a final diagnosis. Then, it all happened very quickly: we had to find out what type of tumour it was, how big it was, if metastases had spread anywhere else – which they had.

"After that, we had to start treatment, organise surgery, let people know – there were a lot of things to think about in the first few days."

Haller would go on to leave Dortmund for two loan spells at Leganes and Utrecht before eventually joining the Dutch side on a permanent basis.

He had previously played for Utrecht between 2015 and 2017 before moving to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt.