Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has made an appointment with DFB director Oliver Bierhoff to talk about, among other things, the issue of pay in women’s and men’s football.
He will meet Bierhoff on the DFB campus in Frankfurt am Main, Scholz told ARD halfway through the European Championship final between German footballers and England at Wembley Stadium in London. You will not “hang around” about the issue of payment in football. “I am firmly convinced that equal pay plays an important role, especially when it comes to competitions like this.”
When asked what tip he would give for the outcome of the final, Scholz said he believed in a victory for the German team. “I hope even in regular time.”
Scholz for the first time in a women’s match in the stadium
For the Chancellor, the final is the first women’s match that he watches live in the stadium. But he watched the European Championships on television during his vacation. He was “really excited,” said the Chancellor about the final. “It’s very, very exciting, very competitive, world-class football that the two teams are showing here. And of course I think the performance of the German team is particularly great.”
Scholz had already called for equal pay for women and men in sport in the preliminary round of the European Championship on Twitter – especially in national teams – and thus further fueled this debate. Bierhoff then suggested a conversation with the SPD politician. “I’m happy to invite him over. Then I’ll explain the numbers to him a little better,” he said.
At half-time in the final, Bierhoff said he spoke to Scholz in the stands. He invited him to the campus there and wanted to talk to him not only about women’s football, but also about football in general and the work of the German Football Association. It was a “great honor” that Scholz accepted the invitation. You will also talk about the social mission of the DFB.