Also in view of the great success at the European Championships in England, the federal government wants to support women’s football more. “It is a concern of the federal government as a whole to strengthen sport, including women’s football,” said government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner.
Sports and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to work “to strengthen the importance of women’s football and to provide further support,” added a spokesman for her house. Details were not given. Greens parliamentary group spokeswoman Britta Haßelmann also criticized the DFB and made specific demands.
On Sunday evening, the German women’s national soccer team lost 2-1 after extra time to hosts England in the final of the European Championship in London. Thanks to the “self-confident appearance at this tournament”, the German team has become “a role model for many women in sport and also in other areas of society”, said government spokesman Büchner: “Perhaps one can also say that especially in a summer with so many oppressive News that the wonderful performance of the DFB women at this European Championship was good for many people in Germany.”
“Was a fantastic performance”
The leader of the Greens parliamentary group, Hasselmann, also expressed her appreciation. “Congratulations. That was a fantastic performance, an outstanding tournament and a great team play,” she told the German Press Agency in Berlin. The team and coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg have achieved something that goes far beyond the runner-up title: “You not only brought women’s football to millions of screens, but into the hearts of millions of people.”
This “incredible performance” would now have to be followed by “incredible efforts by the football associations DFB and DFL”. The DFB must make games and leagues much more visible. “The fact that awareness is not really there is shown when three games of a men’s DFB Cup are scheduled parallel to the women’s final in Wembley,” criticized Haßelmann: “The promotion of young football-loving girls and women must be massively expanded. There it can’t fail because of financial resources at the DFB. We really have to get started now.”