Ulrike Geithe wants to bring a breath of fresh air to the presidency of the Bremen Football Association – and campaign for women’s football. However, comparisons with men bother her.
Ulrike Geithe can’t live without football. She started playing soccer when she was a child, but times were still problematic in the 1970s. “It wasn’t okay for girls to play soccer,” the 59-year-old recalls. She did it anyway and went her way. Today she is the first woman to sit on the executive committee of the Bremen Football Association (BFV).
The beginnings were difficult. In the past, says Geithe, she founded street teams to be able to play football. The expectation in the family was more that girls play with barbies and go to the ballet. She actually practices ballet today, but her heart still belongs to soccer. In the past, she only ever played with boys. Because her shoes always broke as a teenager, her mother let her go to TSV Wunsdorf’s indoor training in November 1978. “I was the happiest person in the world then,” Geithe looks back. She now also wants to ensure that young people do sports in the club in the BFV Presidium.
Geithe initially declined
Geithe wasn’t really aware that she was the first woman on the board. Michael Grell, who has now left the presidency, asked her if she could imagine the task. However, Geithe initially dismissed the idea. “I immediately said ‘no’,” she says. Because she knew too little about the base, she didn’t dare to take the step to the presidency. In addition, she sees herself more in the second row. A man, she thinks, wouldn’t have hesitated so much. However, Grell did not give up and encouraged her. In the end with success.
“Then I went back to myself and said, ‘Why not?’ “They know me as a guy. Why does someone always have to rush ahead? I already know where I’m at. It’s not like I’m a yes-man.” (Ulrike Geithe in conversation with Sportblitz)
Geithe wants to promote girls’ and women’s football
BFV President Björn Fecker is pleased that Geithe is now on board. “I think it’s good for football overall if the diversity that prevails on our pitches is reflected in its committees,” he says. Above all, the social worker wants to get involved in girls’ and women’s football. After all, she knows how difficult it can be there. She herself has coached junior selection teams. She has also been on the pitch as a referee. Women who played football used to be referred to as “manwomen”. Geithe also knows that spectators scornfully ask for a jersey swap.
The 59-year-old wants to ensure that girls’ and women’s football are promoted more. It is still the case that some clubs have no coaches for this or think they have no place for it. Some clubs, says Geithe, are simply not behind the issue. She also wants to ensure that more children and young people come back to the sports clubs after the Corona period. “Insane” also makes the violence that sometimes occurs on the sports fields. But this is more of a societal problem.
“Men make the money”
Although Geithe wants to support women’s football, the constant comparisons with men bother her. It is increasingly being criticized that men earn a lot of money in professional football, while the sums for women are significantly lower. There are also occasional calls for the men’s and women’s teams to receive the same amount of bonuses at tournaments such as the World Cup and the European Championship.
“The men fill the stadiums and make the money. It will take time for the women to fill the stadiums. This is still developing and must not stop.” (Ulrike Geithe in conversation with Sportblitz)
Although the salaries will continue to vary, Geithe hopes that something will happen for women here too. In terms of performance, the players should earn so well, at least in the Bundesliga, that they don’t have to work on the side. In her new role, she can now campaign even more prominently for this.
