Chancellor Olaf Scholz met national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg before the international match of the German soccer team against Sweden in Duisburg.
“We are delighted that Olaf Scholz is a guest at our first international match this year,” said Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. “It’s a strong sign at the start of this sportingly important World Cup year! The meeting with the Federal Chancellor before the game was an interesting, first exchange that we would like to maintain and continue in the future.”
The SPD politician had announced his visit to the first endurance test of the vice European champions in the World Cup year last week. It was said that the Chancellor wanted to express his special appreciation for women’s football in Germany.
Scholz is committed to equal bonuses
Scholz had already campaigned last year for German national soccer players to receive the same bonuses.
Scholz also spoke to DFB President Bernd Neuendorf in Duisburg. The two had already met last year on the association’s new campus and talked about the payment of DFB women. At the time, the Chancellor reiterated: “My point of view is known. From my point of view, this is something political and something different than salary negotiations.”
The unequal bonuses were a big topic at the 2022 women’s European Championship in England, and the Chancellor also got involved. The DFB women would have received 60,000 euros per player for the title. For men, 400,000 were offered at the European Championships the year before. There would have been the same sum for every player for a World Cup triumph in Qatar, but the German men failed in the preliminary round last year.