Football, Frankfurt and France– they go together pretty well. Because in Frankfurt – in the Eintracht jersey – some fabulous ball artists from France have risen to become superstars in recent years. For example, Sébastien Haller, born in south-east Paris, played for Auxerre and Utrecht before his breakthrough in Frankfurt, and then scored goals for West Ham, Ajax and BVB. Or Randal Kolo Muani, also from the Parisian banlieue, who made his way into the French national team with the help of outstanding performances at the Waldstadion. And, of course, Hugo Ekitiké, born in Reims in northern France, is currently becoming one of Eintracht's crowd favourites.

In this respect, it makes perfect sense that the two prominent French asset managers, Natixis Investment Managers and Amundi, came up with the idea of meeting in Frankfurt last week, not as fierce rivals on the markets, but as sporting opponents on the green turf.

The encounter took place at the Stadion Riederwald, and was not just for fun and games, but a charity event for a good cause, namely a fundraiser for children with heart disease. It is part of an initiative by a Hamburg doctor – aiming to raise the highest possible five-figure sum as a donations. Oh yes, even if it doesn't matter much: Natixis' Équipe ultimately prevailed against Amundi's team 4:0.

Of course, the French are not the only ones in Frankfurt who are now building a bridge to football – and Eintracht in particular. Quite the opposite: while relations between the banks around the Taunusanlage and the football club in the forest were somewhat sporadic in the 1990s and 2000s, there are now close ties between the SGE and almost all the major players in the financial centre.

This certainly has something to do with the fact that the former „elevator team“ (four relegations and promotions between 1996 and 2012) has blossomed into an eleven with a quasi-regular place in the top half of the Bundesliga table.

Eintracht AG's shareholders include Metzler, DZ Bank, Helaba and BHF, as well as the securities trading bank Steubing. In addition to Deutsche Bank, which replaced Commerzbank as stadium sponsor, the other sponsors also include DWS and Frankfurter Sparkasse. In view of the proximity between the financial centre and Eintracht, you could get the impression in the aisle in front of the boxes at some home matches that you are at the Retail Banking Day or Euro Finance Week.