Bensemann was born in
Berlin,
Brandenburg, as the son of a
Jewish banker. During his time at private school in
Montreux, Switzerland, he learned about the new sport of football. When he moved to
Karlsruhe in order to complete his school-leavers' exam, he began to spread the sport around the
German Empire. There, in September 1889, he founded the
International Football Club, the first football club in southern Germany, and two years later he was instrumental in the founding of
Karlsruher FV, one of the first champion clubs in Germany. He was also involved in the creation of
Frankfurter Kickers, who would later become
Eintracht Frankfurt. In 1900 he belonged to the founding-fathers of the
German Football Association. Bensemann thought of football as a means of international understanding, so he started to organize international matches such as the ones between selections of
Lausanne and southern Germany in 1893. Consequently, this also led to the five historical matches between selections from
Germany and
England between 1899 and 1901, which albeit not having any official status, are considered the historically first international matches of any Germany national side. In 1920, Bensemann founded
Kicker, which evolved soon into Germany's leading football magazine, a status which it retains today. In 1933, the
Nazi Machtergreifung in Germany compelled Benseman to move to Montreux where he died soon, relatively unnoticed and without means. He also taught German at Birkenhead School in the Wirral. == Walther Bensemann Prize ==