On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the friendship treaty with Kumamoto, Mayor Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain received a delegation from Heidelberg's twin city headed by Mayor Kazufumi Onishi. The board members of PSV Heidelberg were invited to attend the ceremony in the Town Hall. Markus Krabel and Prof. Karl Kiening were accompanied by Munetsugu Sakabe, Aikido master from Kumamoto.

Both the Japanese delegation and the hosts were keen to revive the youth sports exchange between Heidelberg and Kumamoto. This had largely come to a standstill after an earthquake in Kumamoto. Concrete talks are planned for 2024, initially for football, basketball and judo.