National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg hopes that the national team will bring the momentum to Germany with them: “We can’t continue as before.” The names of the national players should remain present. Even the chancellor has pledged his support.
The European Championship was a tournament of superlatives: in terms of spectator numbers in the stadium and in front of the screens, but also in terms of the goals scored and football on the pitch, the Euro 2022 set new standards. “Nobody can take that away from football anymore. The EM has taken a giant step,” said sports show expert Nia Künzer and praised: “The games were of a high, attractive level.”
After the EM, however, it’s back to everyday life – and it’s sometimes dreary. “We can’t go back after the final and everyone carries on as before. We all have to take the chance together now,” Voss-Tecklenburg emphasized before the final. It’s about the next steps in women’s football: “If not now, then when?”
The words of Fran Kirby show that this is not a Germany-specific issue: “The fact that so many people come to our games shows their interest. Hopefully things are progressing and it’s not just a one-off spectacular event,” said the English playmaker. Because even if English women’s football has played a pioneering role in development and has set one or the other exclamation mark in the past – on “normal” days the FA Women’s Super League is not in the public eye either.
Women’s football has new faces in Germany
National coach Voss-Tecklenburg hopes that her team has set the ball rolling towards a real improvement for women’s football in Germany. And it is probably the case that the DFB players could hardly have done more despite missing the European Championship title. In 2019 they said in a commercial before the World Cup that they were playing for a nation that didn’t know their names. This is different now:
Above all, captain Alexandra Popp, who delighted many fans with her elemental force in front of the goal. Also Svenja Huth, who leads the way on the square and because she made her love for her girlfriend and now a wife public, has not only become a role model for many women and girls.
One can only love this team. And I hope that the players have inspired a lot of girls to play football again.
And then the common German football fan got to know a few more women who he really shouldn’t forget any time soon: starting with Merle Frohms, who impressively showed that besides Almuth Schult there is another goalkeeper at the DFB of very high caliber . About Giulia Gwinn, who not only reported back impressively after tearing her cruciate ligament, but also took a big step forward in her development. Right down to the young players like Klara Bühl, who was unlucky enough to get a corona infection before the semi-finals, and Jule Brand.
Oberdorf leads the way at a young age
Especially in focus: Lena Oberdorf. The Wolfsburg native has also shown what an outstanding talent she is on the big European stage. UEFA honored the 20-year-old as the tournament’s best young player. Her brother Tim, after all a professional at second division Fortuna Düsseldorf, is now presented as “Lena Oberdorf’s brother” – years ago that would have been unimaginable. The midfielder has inspired many people with her uncompromising nature on the pitch and already embodies absolute international class.
Antonio Di Salvo didn’t miss it either, as the sporting director of the national teams, Joti Chatzialexiou, reported with a laugh. The men’s U21 national coach asked about Oberdorf. Of course, he would also like to have such an assertive talent under his wing.
MVT: “Club representatives have to get away from prejudices”
Voss-Tecklenburg also makes the clubs responsible. Girls are needed who want to play football because they see role models, because they have become visible. She appeals that some club representatives “get away from their prejudices. The clubs should open themselves to all the values that we have conveyed here.”
In the end we will only win if we can end everything that is happening right now, whether in Germany, in England or in Europe, if we can end it with lasting effect.
Künzer hopes for more spectators – in the stadium and on TV
But does the enthusiasm for the EM really radiate to Germany? “We need more spectators in the stadiums,” said Künzer, addressing the core problem. Of course, the league cannot compete with the 87,192 fans at the European Championship final. The fact that there are not even 1,000 spectators at some Bundesliga games should be the absolute exception.
The 2003 world champion is looking forward to the opening match of the new season between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich in the big stadium. “That could be a good transition.” Chatzialexiou is counting on “that we can actually generate euphoria with the start of the Bundesliga”.
“Significantly more spectators come to games in big stadiums”
In Cologne, there are considerations to let the women, who managed to stay up in the Bundesliga for the first time in the spring, also play in the big stadium. Mind games that Ralf Kellermann likes: “You shouldn’t be afraid that there won’t be 10,000 spectators. It’s about the fact that it’s a different environment. In my experience, as soon as you go to the big stadium, there are significantly more spectators “said the manager of VfL Wolfsburg.
But Künzer also knows about the importance of visibility on television: “Sport only reaches the general public if it can be seen on free-to-air TV. A payment barrier or an extra subscription are an obstacle.”
How far does the courage of the DFB go?
It is well known that the DFB wants to start at this point. But what happens beyond that? The presidium around the new president Bernd Neuendorf recently decided on a program to strengthen women’s football – and yet the criticism of the association and its treatment of women does not stop. Even if equal play – and not equal pay – was initially stated as a possible goal: basic financial support for the Bundesliga players, many of whom still have to work on the side, is high on the agenda for many.
“We need a push in Germany. And by now everyone should know that this won’t be a sure-fire success. Nobody can sit back and relax,” emphasized Künzer. Jörg Neblung, who has also been working as a consultant for players for four years, had already requested a start-up spirit from the DFB at sportschau.de. Künzer sees it similarly: “The DFB must have the courage to invest and make advance payments. Women’s football has added value and really great development opportunities.”
Chancellor Scholz promises MVT support
Support was assured to Voss-Tecklenburg and her fellow campaigners from the highest level. “Olaf Scholz promised me that we would meet,” reported the national coach. After the lost final, the Chancellor came into the dressing room together with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Bundestag President Bärbel Bas and spoke to the team.
MVT continues: “We want to push projects that ensure that we don’t stagnate. That we win girls for the clubs, for the breadth, that we get talent justice. We want to tackle the issues. The firm will is there, sustainability to take away from this tournament.” And if the European Championship were to take care of that in Germany, Vice-European Champion Germany would have won a lot despite losing the final against England.