With usually 16 teams from all over Germany and several European countries, the StartschussMasters is one of the largest queer football tournaments in Germany. The indoor tournament has prominent supporters: stars from politics, sport and society have presented the trophies throughout the tournament’s long history and declared their solidarity with the community. Until 2024, the patron was Farid Müller, a member of the Hamburg Parliament. After his end of term, this role was taken over by Miriam Block, also a member of parliament.
The StartschussMasters has a fixed place in the tournament calendar of the queer sports community, always taking place on the first weekend in November. The tournament premiered in 2005. Since then, it has taken place almost every year – the only exceptions were 2015, when the organising association Startschuss hosted the IGFLA European Championships in the summer, and the Corona years 2020/21.
The host is Startschuss Queer Sport Hamburg, one of the largest queer sports clubs in Germany with more than 700 members (founded in 1990). The club offers everything from badminton and handball to yoga. Startschuss is a member of the Hamburg Sports Federation (HSB) and the respective professional associations for the various sports.