“I’m waiting for the day when a Bundesliga player submits parental leave”
Almuth Schult is currently without a contract. According to her statements, the fact that she does not yet have a new club is also due to her pregnancy
Source: pa/Eibner-Pressefoto/Eibner/Memmler
Almuth Schult is currently expecting offspring for the second time. The pregnancy still poses problems for her in professional sport, says the national goalkeeper. She practices clear criticism of the system. She also expresses a wish for expectant fathers.
Dhe national soccer goalkeeper Almuth Schult has criticized the handling of pregnant athletes. “It’s still the case that sport isn’t prepared for it, but that the mothers are fighting for it to become normal and they have to fight for their rights,” said the 32-year-old in an interview with the “Funke Mediengruppe” on the occasion of the International Women’s Day. For a long time, the topic was even “hushed up”.
Schult, who herself is a mother of twins and is expecting another child in late summer, lacks a written basis on how support in the event of pregnancy looks like. “There is still no framework guideline from the association or the clubs. There is nothing in writing, only oral confessions,” criticized Schult. In the USA, where the goalkeeper was last under contract, they are already a step further: “There are some rules of the league. The licensing process specifies what needs to be done to support mothers.” For example, there is support for kindergarten.
However, her stint at Angel City FC ended after less than six months in November last year. Since then, Schult has been without a club. “I had actually reached an agreement with a club in December, but then I was open about the fact that I was pregnant and we then agreed that we would not sign the contract now,” said Schult.
She has to wait and see: “I don’t think a club will sign me until I can play again. And without being tied to a club, I have to make sure I can get back in shape myself.”
Schult is happy about her second mainstay
There would also be financial losses as a result. There would be a lack of performance and success bonuses or additional money from the national team, Schult said, “but I was lucky with my first pregnancy that you still get a salary as an employee in Germany – that also applies to clubs.” Schult was there Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg under contract.
It’s different with her current pregnancy: “I’m not employed and have to see how I can get along. I can count myself lucky that I’ve built up my second career and that I’m doing relatively well. Other players do not have a leg to stand on. “Other athletes might have been left with nothing in my situation,” said Schult.
In the case of male professional footballers who become fathers, the situation is completely unproblematic. “It’s just grown like this: For many men in football it’s quite normal for the woman to stay at home with the child,” said Schult and added: “I’m waiting for the day when a Bundesliga player submits parental leave.”
However, Schult does not believe that this will happen realistically. The financial dimension for men is completely different than for women. “They would probably hire two nannies rather than stay home for maternity leave. But it would be nice if this were to happen at some point to see how a club reacted,” said Schult.
Flowers for Ukrainian front-line soldiers by Klitschko
On International Women’s Day, women around the world draw attention to injustice in the world of work and society and demonstrate in many cities. Many show solidarity with women in Ukraine in particular.
Source: WORLD / Christina Lewinsky, Ibrahim Naber
