World Cup 2023 national player Oberdorf: “I wish that every gay footballer can come out”
National player Lena Oberdorf in June at the DFB training camp in Herzogenaurach
© Daniel Karmann / DPA
Homosexuality is no longer an issue in women’s football, but it is still taboo in men’s football. The men feel a little sorry for national player Lena Oberdorf.
Dealing with homosexuality in football is very different – depending on whether it’s men’s or women’s football. While love for the same sex remains an unspoken taboo for men, women are further along: lesbian relationships have always been openly displayed here. That’s why the German international Lena Oberdorf hopes that men’s football will follow suit and be open, as has long been the norm among women and in large parts of society.
“I wish that every gay footballer can come out and be accepted by everyone,” said the German international to the English “Guardian”. “Society makes it really hard for men, but if you dye your hair green or red, I don’t care. It’s your life.” So far, no active player in German professional football has confessed to being homosexual.
Lena Oberdorf: I didn’t come out
Speaking of her own partnership with girlfriend Kimberly, the 21-year-old VfL Wolfsburg midfielder said: “I haven’t come out and said, ‘Guys, I have a girlfriend’. She’s on my social media sometimes, so people can think , what you want.” In women’s football, homosexuality is not a big deal.
At the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which begins this Thursday, Oberdorf is one of the key players in the German team. She should stabilize the selection of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg from defensive midfield.
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The German team will play their opening game next Monday in Melbourne against Morocco (10.30 a.m. CEST/ZDF), the other opponents in Group H are Colombia, who are waiting in Sydney on Sunday, July 30 (11.30 a.m. CEST/ARD), and for Closing on August 3 South Korea (12:00 noon CEST/ZDF) in Brisbane.
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