equal pay? equal play? The women's European Football Championship is rekindling the debate about equality and equal treatment in sport. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is therefore now visiting the German Football Association - and is facing high expectations.
Olaf Scholz can already get an idea of the new heart of German football. A sprawling building complex, perfect spaces, plus state-of-the-art offices - the DFB leadership around Bernd Neuendorf, Oliver Bierhoff and Celia Sasic will proudly present all this to the Chancellor during his visit this Tuesday. However, the new campus should not distract from the actual topic: the discussion about "equal pay".
"We will not shy away from the issue. I am convinced that equal pay plays an important role," Scholz had finally emphasized in the half-time of the European Championship final of the German soccer team against England. With his visit to the German Football Association (DFB) in Frankfurt in the midst of the euphoria about the vice European champions, the discussions on the difficult question continue to gain momentum.
In the debate fueled by Scholz, different camps face each other. You have to “contradict” the Chancellor, said national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, who will be on vacation on Tuesday, at Bayern1 with a view to the same payment: “We said we want to have 'equal play' first, that we have better structures, we have talent equity, all girls can play football."
In principle, there is nothing to be said against the same title bonuses, says the national coach. However, Voss-Tecklenburg emphasized that she was by no means demanding that women's premiums be raised to the level of men, but "a little less for men and a little more for women". Each player would have received 60,000 euros for the European title, the men 400,000 euros a year earlier.
Some demand that the DFB pay in advance to promote women and thus get a top product off the ground. The others point out that it is not possible to pay more than is received. The Chancellor's statement after the campus tour and the conversation with DFB boss Neuendorf, Managing Director Bierhoff and Vice President Sasic is eagerly awaited.
In any case, Scholz kept focusing on the topic during the EM. Voss-Tecklenburg rated the chancellor's visit to the dressing room after the final and the invitation to Berlin as extremely positive. It was "great that there is the first meeting," she said in the current ZDF sports studio: "But then we also have to make something of it. Not just talk, but also follow action."
But now she "actually has the feeling that it's not just lip service and symbolic politics," said the national coach, who spoke of an order for "the entire sport". Politicians must be “more involved”.
Above all, the DFB is in focus when it comes to the question of how the EM hype can be saved in everyday life. Despite all the skepticism in the public, the association naturally looks to the future with confidence. "The performance of the national team at the European Championship will have a lasting effect," said Neuendorf, referring to the strategy concept that had been adopted, with which women should be pushed in all areas.
Above all, it is important "that well-known personalities and faces stand up for us," said national goalkeeper Merle Frohms. For example, former Chancellor Angela Merkel "watched every game and she supported us, and that was great," said Voss-Tecklenburg. With Scholz, the German footballers have another prominent advocate.
