German Soccer Campaigns for LGBTQ+ Inclusivity
Football Against Discrimination at German Gay Pride 2014 (Wikimedia Commons)
German magazine 11Freunde announced a campaign supported by more than 800 professional German soccer players, both men and women, in support of their LGBTQ+ colleagues on February 17. 11Freunde published a letter accompanying the campaign in their latest issue under the title (and eventual slogan) ‘Ihr könnt auf uns zählen!” (“You can count on us!”). It aims to reduce the stigma against openly gay soccer athletes, as no openly gay individuals have yet played for any German or European male leagues.
The campaign focuses on fostering a welcoming environment and building unconditional support for LGBTQ+ players rather than pressuring players to come out. In the statement accompanying the campaign release, signatories such as Borussia Dortmund Chief Executive Hans-Joachim Watzke emphasized the importance of the situation: “The fear of being attacked and ostracized after coming out and of jeopardizing one’s career as a professional footballer is apparently still so great that gay footballers believe they have to hide their sexuality.”
The hyper-masculinity of the sport and the culture that surrounds it perpetuates an environment that can seem hostile to those who hide their sexuality for fear of persecution and, therefore, it is not surprising that there are no openly LGBTQ+ players in the men’s league.
Trying to cultivate diversity, several German clubs have extended support over the last decade to those who don’t fit with the mainstream definition of a soccer player. Second division side St. Pauli leads the way in open acceptance, with fans often sporting rainbow banners with supportive messages. The charter for first division side FC. Köln states, “Welcome to the most beautiful city in Germany—no matter where you come from, what you believe, what you have or are, how you live and who you love.”
This is not the first campaign in Germany that has sought to bring about more inclusivity in soccer. In 2014, fans of German division 1 team Borussia Dortmund created the initiative “ballspiel.vereint!” (“ball game unites!”). The initiative aims to tackle radical right-wing views within the sport and create an “anti-discriminatory consensus within the fans'' by raising awareness of discrimination within the club.
Many players have spoken out in favor of the campaign. Captain of the Wolfsburg women’s team Alexandra Popp expressed her support, saying, “On the pitch, it doesn’t matter who you fancy, it’s about your performance. If someone came out, I actually believe it would be something of a liberation which could help boost their performance by one or two percent.” FC Union’s Berlin Max Kruse also spoke in favor of the campaign, albeit in a more frank manner: “If one of my colleagues came out, I’d protect him from the idiots outside.”
The public has also provided an outpouring of support for the campaign and its members. On Twitter, many German soccer fans post messages of support under the hashtag #ihrkönntaufunszählen, often including images of themselves holding placards with the hashtag. One user gave their blessing to the campaign by tweeting “Our game… Our friends… Our world… You can count on us. We are here for you.”