“I didn’t expect it to hit such a big wave,” said Kumpis at the NDR Sportclub. “In the Braunschweig region, the subject of women was never in demand.” At the very beginning she was asked about it. But after saying it wasn’t an issue for her, that was it. “But since it became clear that I won the election, it has had a huge impact nationally.”
Fan representative Breit: “Making football fit for the future”
However, that was to be expected. Because even though the DFL task force “Future Professional Football” presented its results more than a year ago and called for more diversity in clubs, among other things, nothing has changed in the women’s issue at the 36 first and second division clubs. “It’s incredibly sobering,” emphasized Taskforce member Helen Breit.
“It neither reflects our social conditions nor can it be compared to the free economy. And I think that at the latest then all the alarm bells should ring,” emphasized Breit, who is also the chair of the “Our Curve” fan alliance.
In her view, it is necessary to finally bring the issues of gender equality and diversity to the fore. “But I don’t see a broad movement in the clubs. That would be necessary to position yourself for the future.”
Wolfsburg’s Schult: “The current generation deserves respect”
The women from “Football can do more” have also taken up the cause of this issue. “The generation that is coming right now deserves respect. You have to see that football is not only male-dominated, but that there is also a female side that can be quite strong and that you need that side too,” explained National goalkeeper Almuth Schult from VfL Wolfsburg.
Together with her fellow campaigners, the 31-year-old has set herself the goal of change at the DFB. After careful consideration, the women decided not to run their own candidate in the presidential elections. But she was pleased to note the result of the DFB Bundestag: “Now I’m curious to see how it develops. You can’t say too much yet – apart from the numbers: Before there was a woman on the presidency, now there are five. We hope something will change.”
Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb had given up hope early on (“fear of change”). The former German professional referee, who suddenly found herself under pressure from the then Vice President Rainer Koch with her commitment to the “Football can do more” project, switched to the English professional league as head of referees. Remarkable: The new DFB Vice President Silke Sinning prevailed in the direct election against long-term official Koch.
New leaders as a glimmer of hope
Fan representative Breit deeply regrets Steinhaus-Webb’s departure from Germany, but also emphasizes: “Not much has changed yet. But there are a few glimmers of hope. And everything is moving more slowly at the DFB, so I see that as a strong sign. ” For her, however, the women in the DFB leadership remain just like the new managing director Donata Hopfen at the top of the DFL “still exotic”.
Now the professional clubs have to follow suit – and Breit sees an urgent need to increase the pressure. “We need a women’s quota in football. If something changed without it, we would already have the change – but we don’t have it!” She said, adding with a view to Eintracht President Kumpis: “We can’t keep up the pace support that we have now. It’s nice that we’re talking about a woman now. But should we just wait another 20 years and then we’ll have a second one?”
Does football also need a quota for women?
The women’s quota – for many a specter. For Breit, the rate in business is a role model: it debunked the “false argument” that there were no qualified and competent women. “It’s a bottleneck made by men. We can only break open the structures in football with a radical measure. We have to open the doors wide and leave them open. And also as a transitional phase, because then it would be in two years completed.”
Eintracht President Kumpis calls for individual solutions
Schult thinks that the fact that Kumpis won an election in Braunschweig (and without a quota) is “a great signal and a really great statement”. In her own estimation, Kumpis’ success is based primarily on the fact that she is so well connected among the “lions” because of her long association with the club: “The members made a conscious decision for Nicole Kumpis – and not for a woman. I I come from the club – and a lot of people thought I was capable of that.” However, she does not think much of a women’s quota: “It would probably have meant that people would not have liked to vote for me.”
Wide: Measure women by their performance
So Kumpis is sure that she and her team will benefit from the attention. Sociologist Breit also believes in this: “I am happy about every woman who becomes visible in football, in leadership roles, because it shows that it is a strenuous path, but also that it is feasible. And we urgently need ‘role- Models’: people who lead the way.”
But the road to normality is likely to be a long one. This is shown not least by various comments from football fans on social networks. Clothing, looks or simply being a woman are still much too often discussed there instead of Kumpis’ qualities.
And Breit also points out another danger: “All women in football are role models, whether they want it or not. They suddenly work on behalf of all women. And that also comes with a burden.” Nobody should make the mistake of expecting too much from them: “It has been proven that women have to do more in many areas to receive the same recognition. But they don’t have to be three times as good as men. It’s enough if they are equally good. Everyone is asked to boil it down – and look at the performance.”
Source: NDR