The football culture project #Heimspiel wants to make the fan scene in Chemnitz more colorful and diverse and show racism and xenophobia the red card. Today (11/13/23) the project will be awarded the renowned Julius Hirsch Prize from the DFB Cultural Foundation. This honors the courageous work of two clubs that are fighting the dominance of right-wing extremist groups in the Chemnitz fan scene.
Even if the problem of right-wing extremism in football exists in many clubs, Chemnitzer FC is a special case. Right-wing extremist groups have been rooted in the club’s fan scene for decades. And they still set the tone there today.
CFC fan scene influenced by right-wing groups
The group “HooNaRa” has dominated the fan scene since the 90s. The abbreviation stands for hooligans, Nazis and racists. This was followed by the “NS Boys” – even though NS officially stood for New Society and not National Socialism. A Hitler Youth was depicted on the group’s flag. The fan group “Kaotic” existed until two years ago. All three were observed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Since December 2022, there has been a new group in the curve with presumably right-wing extremist members: “Kamenica Furor”.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that all the fans in the south stand of the CFC stadium are right-wing extremists. Robert Claus, an expert on right-wing extremism in football, also knows this: “It would be saying too much to assess the Chemnitz curve as homogeneously right-wing extremist. However, the influence of right-wing extremists and the power they exercise through their violence is very high there.”
Climate of fear in the Chemnitz fan scene
Martin Ziegenhagen, the CFC’s anti-racism officer, is a little clearer: “We have parts of the scene on the curve. You have to speak clearly about right-wing extremist structures.” And those who are organized in these right-wing extremist structures exercise power in the Chemnitz Curve – if in doubt also through physical violence. “Fans who stand for democracy and diversity and want to express themselves in some way are being threatened. We don’t have to kid ourselves. That’s what’s happening,” says Ziegenhagen.
That’s why there was a climate of fear in the Chemnitz fan scene. And you can also feel it outside the stadium, because right-wing fan groups like “Kamenica Furor” are of course also present in the city’s society. This is confirmed by André Löscher from Victim Support for those affected by right-wing violence. “We are currently discovering that a fairly young group of neo-Nazis is out and about in the city, attacking political opponents – even causing bodily harm.”
In contrast to almost all other football locations in Germany, there has been no anti-racist fan initiative in Chemnitz for years.
Robert Claus | Right-wing extremism expert
The Chemnitz fan scene has long been lacking a counterweight to the right-wing extremist groups. “In contrast to almost all other football locations in Germany, there has been no anti-racist fan initiative in Chemnitz for years,” confirms right-wing extremism expert Robert Claus. The group “CFC Fans Against Racism” was only recently founded and is not visible in the stadium. Also because members have been threatened.
Right-wing extremism expert Robert Claus
#Home game controls Right-wing extremism in contrast to
The project is in this mixed situation Home game even more unusual. An extensive football cultural project was set up last summer under the umbrella of the cultural association ASA-FF and with the support of the young football club Athletic Sonnenberg and the “CFC Fans Against Racism”. With a clear position. “#Homegame wants to show that football can connect people,” says the website. “In Chemnitz in particular, football is unfortunately still characterized by an active right-wing extremist scene, both at the CFC and in smaller clubs in the city.”
That’s why “a not insignificant part of civil society has turned away from football, so that it is also a place of retreat and recruitment for organized hooligan groups.” But the organizers of #Homegame are sure “that there are many football enthusiasts in the city who are clearly in favor of an open society.”
Integration, diversity or inclusion
And these football enthusiasts organized a dozen events over four months. From exhibitions to film screenings to panel discussions. There has never been anything like this in Chemnitz.
And of course there was also kicking. There were four football field tournaments, all flanked by political topics: integration, diversity or inclusion. The alternative football club Athletic Sonnenberg supported with its football expertise. “Football is for everyone, no matter where they come from, no matter what they look like,” says club president Cornelius Huster, summing up his club’s philosophy.
#Home game achieves first successes
In the end, a particularly large number of people from migrant communities in Chemnitz took part in the football field tournaments. The finale of #Homegame then took place in the CFC stadium, which is located in the middle of the hotspot district of Sonnenberg. 1,000 fans came to see the winners of the football field tournaments play against a celebrity team from Chemnitz. Felix Müller, one of the organizers, was also in the stadium that day #Homegame.
He was happy about “a super diverse audience that you don’t normally have in the stadium here in Chemnitz.” He also found it particularly special that “an incredible number of people who live on Sonnenberg were there for the first time today – because of us.”
Where is the fan culture in Chemnitz developing?
#Homegame has begun to change football culture. But in the overall picture, the project is only a partial success. “We are halfway there,” analyzes Martin Ziegenhagen, the CFC’s anti-racism officer. “We’re at a fork.” That means: Now it will be decided where the Chemnitz fan culture will develop. Further to the right or towards the center of society.
It is important that the club supports this change. The previous management team shied away from clear confrontation when it came to right-wing extremism and preferred to look the other way. The new club leadership, who has been in office since the summer, is addressing the problem. “No one in the club wants to argue this away,” says Tommy Haeder, the new office manager. “But this is not a problem that we can get rid of in two years.” That is why the CFC is relying on a long-term strategy. With a view to the right-wing extremist structures in the fan scene, Haeder says: “We simply have to get more fans into the stadium who have different opinions.”
Tommy Haeder, office manager at CFC, hopes that young fans will come to the stadium.
“We want to get a new generation into the stadium”
For this reason, the club has come up with many ticket campaigns and is specifically trying to get young fans into the stadium. Children only pay 2.50 euros entry into the stadium on Gellertstrasse. “We want to get a new generation into the stadium,” says the new branch manager. “Families should have fun in the stadium and not be afraid.”
And the calculation works: mid-September Game against Lok Leipzig 7,000 spectators came to the stadium – a regional league record for the CFC. The average audience this season is now around 60% higher than last year. The family block has already sold out twice this season. These are stage successes – on the long way out of the right corner.
