It is considered a super talent
Therefore, DFB star only runs on with her first name
04.03.2025 – 10:38 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Alara Şehitler is the first player in the DFB team to only play on the jersey with her first name. That has a sad background.
18-year-old Alara Şehitler is one of the greatest talents in German women’s football. In November 2024 she played her first international match for the German Football Association. She has been a novelty since this year and is the first player to only wear her first name on the jersey in the history of the DFB women.
For some time now, she had been considering not running up with her last name, but only wearing the first name on the jersey. Last year she expressed this request for the first time that both her employer Bayern Munich and the German Football Association supported.
The European Football Association UEFA approved the application so that the change was implemented at the beginning of the year. Also on her Instagram channel, she is now only called Alara.
Behind her decision is a stressful experience: As the “Sport Bild” reports, her last name repeatedly attracted negative attention. While the correct pronunciation was already a challenge for many (“Sche-Hitler”), right-wing extremists, populists and neo-Nazis used the name for their purposes. The connection to the German jersey and Adolf Hitler was exploited by propaganda. International media also took up the name for tasteless jokes.
Her last name comes from her father, who comes from Turkey. There is “Şehitler” a common name and means “martyr”.
Şehitler grew up in Ravensburg and switched to the second team of FC Bayern in 2023. The midfielder can be used flexibly in the offensive midfield and went through all the youth teams of the DFB. 49 missions are in their statistics from the U15 to the U23. In 2022 she became European champion with the U17, a year later with the U19 Vice European champion. She also received the Fritz Walter medal in gold.