Dhe place could hardly be more prominent. On Friday, the German Football Association (DFB) starts the Inclusion Days in front of the Cologne Cathedral. The highlight of the three-day event will be the crucial final game of the season in the Blind Soccer League between FC St. Pauli and MTV Stuttgart. As DFB Vice President for socio-political tasks and DFB foundations, Uwe Schaffert is particularly concerned about the topic of inclusion.
WELT: What can viewers expect in Cologne?
Uwe Schaffert: The spectators can expect an experience of a special kind. They expect sport from people who live for their sport. Who are footballers through and through and deliver impressive performances – on and off the pitch. It’s only when you see that that you can understand what an incredible performance the athletes achieve.
WELT: What does the venue in the middle of Cologne mean?
Shepherd: We are pleased that with the support of the city of Cologne we can hold the last day of the blind football Bundesliga on Roncalliplatz. This is very important because we can make it so prominently visible that the athletes are in the middle of life. I can only recommend everyone to take a look at it. Events like the Football Inclusion Days are so important because people who have experienced such an event have a completely different view of things afterwards. Inclusion is possible. That can be experienced here.
WELT: Has disabled football also arrived in mainstream society?
Shepherd: I don’t like the term ‘disability football’ that much for two reasons. On the one hand because I have the feeling that the term “disabled” has negative connotations. On the other hand, because “disabled football” doesn’t exist, because there are many facets. For example, blind football, football for people with mental disabilities, deaf football or sports for people with cerebral movement disorders. There are also numerous inclusive football offers where people with and without handicaps play football together. For us, regardless of the respective handicap, one thing is certain: It is people with disabilities who want to participate, who want to and can play football. That’s the great thing. We see them as an important part of the football family and send the clear signal: if you want, you’re welcome in organized football.
WELT: Do many want it?
Shepherd: I think that people with disabilities are much more willing to do sports today than they were 20 years ago. I believe that the willingness of people without disabilities to get involved in this area has not grown to the same extent. It has grown because people with disabilities are no longer as marginalized in society as they were 20 or 30 years ago. However, what we currently have is not enough.
The players of FC St. Pauli celebrate the German blind football championship 2021
Source: pa/Peter Boehmer
WELT: Because society is not ready yet?
Shepherd: Society has become more diverse. We have a large number of people with various impairments in Germany. Why should you keep them away from such a big sport as football is? If you see the joy, the ambition and the love for the game in the people with disabilities, then that’s just great. We have a base in Hildesheim, where I live, where autistic children come for training. When they suddenly see a ball in front of them, you can feel that it’s doing something to the children. If everyone experiences that live, we’ve made a big step forward. Because then the willingness to deal with it grows. This is a target group that is totally grateful and for whom it is something very special. Volunteering is really fun there.
WELT: What still needs to happen for inclusion in football to progress further?
Shepherd: We don’t want to delude ourselves: A team that only consists of people with disabilities will usually not have a realistic chance against a team that only consists of people without disabilities. But that’s not the point either. If you apply the idea of performance, such as in the blind football league, then you have to make sure that people who have the same physical requirements play against each other. But inclusion goes beyond that, it means togetherness. It’s not primarily about winning the championship, it’s about having fun together. That’s why we have to create more opportunities for these people to live out their joy in football.
WELT: How do they look?
Shepherd: We achieve this, for example, with inclusion leagues and inclusion match days. But there are also structural changes. Since 2012, the Sepp Herberger Foundation of the DFB has been involved in financing inclusion officers in all 21 DFB state associations who are committed to giving people with disabilities access to the “football family”. Incidentally, not only as a player, but also as a referee, coach, in club administration or as a fan. A lot has happened in the associations in the last ten years. Statutes and regulations were adjusted, new responsibilities created. Incidentally, this is also reflected in the DFB itself, because there we assigned the topic of “inclusion” to a vice-president for the first time in the executive committee.
“It’s important to change people’s perspectives,” says DFB Vice President Uwe Schaffert
Source: Carsten Kobow/carsten-kobow.de
WELT: Are there limits?
Shepherd: Yes, there are. For example, we have problems with the infrastructure. Try getting into a regular clubhouse in a wheelchair or taking a shower after a game. We have to continue working on solutions at the municipal level. In addition, inclusion does not mean that all of the approximately 25,000 football clubs in Germany have to offer a contact point for all people with disabilities. In the end, there must also be demand from the local target group. However, it would be desirable to have at least one club in every football district that offers football for people with disabilities. Overall, it is important to change the way people see things. It is a human trait that there are inhibitions in the face of the unknown. We have to work on telling people: Take a look at it, see how it works. That’s why we bring football from people with disabilities into the mainstream of society and develop appropriate training opportunities for coaches.
WELT: But there is still the “handicapped pass” or the opponent who is a “spastic” on the pitches.
Shepherd: We don’t want to fool ourselves: football is a reflection of society, it’s a problem for society as a whole. Everyone who bears responsibility in the club or in the associations is called upon to counteract this. There is a lot of persuasion to do at every level. In the teams something like that has to be respected from the inside. At the end of the day, we are all “real” footballers.
