DFB President Bernd Neuendorf reacted with surprise to DFB Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke’s statements about youth reform in German football.
“These statements surprised me”said Neuendorf, according to a statement from the DFB. “The new forms of play in children’s football were unanimously approved by the DFB Bundestag in Bonn in 2022 after a pilot phase lasting several years with the close involvement of the DFL. The professional clubs have expressly agreed to the reform.”
Hans-Joachim Watzke is managing director of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. As head of the DFL supervisory board, he automatically fills the position of first DFB vice president. “There was not even a desire for a debate before the Bundestag’s decision”said Neuendorf.
Reform of the reform decided? DFB and Neuendorf contradict Watzke
Watzke had the reform as “unbelievable and incomprehensible to me” designated. When asked whether a reform of the reform was needed, Watzke said at a business day in Essen: “Yes. And we just decided that.” When asked by Sportschau, the DFB later made it clear that there was no new decision.
The new DFB sports director Hannes Wolf should “Try to show us alternative courses of action in the next one or two years”said Watzke. Neuendorf said in his statement: Our new director for young talent, training and development, Hannes Wolf, will work together with the regional associations to convince people that our path is right. We should therefore take our own decisions seriously and now implement what many experts expressly support.”
Watzke: Children have to learn how to lose
From 2024, the DFB wants to implement new forms of play in the youth sector nationwide in order to minimize pressure to perform and focus on children’s sporting development. From the U6 (Bambinis) to the U11 (E-Youth), the classic league operation with club duels, usually 7 against 7, is to be replaced by so-called festivals with smaller teams and several fields. The youngest players mainly play on four mini goals, and as they get older they increasingly also play on two youth goals.
DFB Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke
Watzke criticized the alleged elimination of winning and losing: “If when you’re six, eight or nine you never feel what it’s like to lose, then you’ll never find the great strength to win.” Ralf Rangnick, Steffen Baumgart and Dietmar Hamann also criticized the reform.
Politics takes over wrong ones conclusion
The assumption that goals scored or conceded in the new game formats do not count or that wins and losses should be abolished has now become part of federal politics. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann warned Maybrit Illner on the ZDF talk show about the state of German society: “The DFB is thinking about the fact that goals no longer count.”
The reform: goals count, children can lose games
However, the reform does not provide for this at all. Although there will be no tables, goals count and they lead to wins and defeats. Whoever loses moves to the next playing field in one direction. Whoever wins switches to the other direction. “If you’re in first place at the end, you’ve won”Wolf explained at the end of August. “There is immediate feedback as to whether you have won or lost.”
DFB refers to abroad. Many countries have successfully reformed their children’s football in a similar way. Although the concepts differ, developments have a similar direction everywhere. England and France have also abolished league systems for younger age groups.