In April 2020, Almuth Schult and her husband became parents of twins. Now the former goalkeeper of VfL Wolfsburg is pregnant again. The 66-time national player would like to continue her football career after pregnancy and childbirth, Schult said in an interview with NDR.
Almuth Schult has recently experienced a great ups and downs of emotions, now she looks ahead with confidence: “My family is very happy that we are expecting children again. The death of my father-in-law in December made our family very sad and was for very emotional for us,” said the 31-year-old to NDR. The offspring should be born at the end of August. “Pregnancy makes us all look happier to the future. Fate sometimes has something positive for you, even in difficult times.”
A few weeks ago she had already declared that she did not want to join any club for the time being. After the death of her father-in-law, it was important for Schult to be close to the family. And: “Of course I didn’t want to sign a contract with a club knowing I wouldn’t be available in the second half of the season.”
World Championship in Australia and New Zealand without Schult
Schult won six German championship titles and eight cup wins with VfL Wolfsburg. She left the club in the summer and joined the Angel City FC club in Los Angeles – her engagement in the USA ended last November. The 2016 Olympic champion continued to be part of the national team and celebrated her comeback in the German goal in the fall – after a break of more than three years due to the birth of her children and injuries. The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer will now take place without them.
“I’ll miss a major tournament for the first time since 2011. The reason couldn’t be better.”
— Almuth Schult
The twins, who are now almost three years old, often accompanied their mother to work. Schult wanted that and sometimes fought for it, she is considered a pioneer when it comes to reconciling professional sport and family. “Children are a gift. For us as a family anyway. But we also experienced in Wolfsburg, in Los Angeles and especially at the Euro last year how much joy we both brought to the team,” Schult looks back. At the tournament in England, the twins and their husband lived in the team quarters, both the teammates and the coaches emphasized that they saw it as a great asset.
“I want to continue my football career”
Now the 31-year-old is going on maternity leave again. This should not mean the end of my career as a goalkeeper: “I would like to continue my football career after the pregnancy and childbirth. But of course we have to see how well that fits in with the new challenges in family life.” Schult lives with her husband and children in a small village in Wendland, Lower Saxony, where she grew up.
“I’m currently enjoying the time with the children and family at home. That I don’t have to rush back and forth between the training ground, the stadium and other appointments. I can also do a few things that are left undone and also have projects that I can continue to work on and jobs in the media sector.”
Most recently, Schult was part of the ARD team of experts at the men’s World Cup at the end of last year. On Sunday she will accompany the game of VfL Wolfsburg against Bayern Munich in the men’s Bundesliga for the “DAZN” streaming service. From Wolfsburg, Schult only needs a good hour to get home to her family in Wendland.
This topic in the program:
Sports current | 03.02.2023 | 10:17 a.m
