President Herbert Hainer emphasized the immense importance of the return of spectators in 2022 for FC Bayern.
“It was a turning point, also beyond the sport,” said the 68-year-old on the club’s website. “I often have the feeling that the pandemic is still getting to people’s bones, and then there are current concerns such as the war in Ukraine, concerns about the climate, the energy crisis – shared experiences can give many people a certain amount of support.”
Hainer was also enthusiastic about the increased spectator interest in women’s football.
The 3-1 home win of the Munich team around Klara Bühl, Lina Magull and Lea Schüller in front of around 24,000 fans in the Champions League against FC Barcelona was a milestone.
“The spectator response, which would certainly have been even greater if the kick-off hadn’t been at 9 p.m., shows that women’s football has reached a new dimension,” said the Bayern president.
“Equal play instead of equal pay”
Nevertheless, Hainer still sees room for improvement when it comes to structures and pay in women’s football.
First of all, however, the focus must be on “equal play instead of equal pay”, he argued: “It’s about creating structures in German women’s football in order to establish professional competition at the highest level.” This applies to training opportunities, medical care or equal competitive conditions within the league.
Here the German Football Association (DFB) and all clubs are asked: “Everything has to grow healthy and reasonable, it can only go step by step.”