When she played her first game together with men, the men told them to stay at home. But the girls didn’t let that stand. They explained to them that they have the same right to play. Soccer does not belong only to men, soccer is not a man’s game. A week later, they apologized. Khadija was pleased with this success. Because women love to play football, too. Who had the right to say they could not. In Afghanistan and Iran, Khadija never thought about playing soccer. She was taught that it was a male-only sport. At the end of 2015, she moved to Austria. From a friend Khadija hears that there is an opportunity for women to play soccer. That’s how she joined Kicken ohne Grenzen. In training, workshops and further education, her self-confidence was strengthened. For her, everything was new, but thanks to soccer she got around a lot in Vienna. And now, with being able to travel, her world has become even bigger. She would like to play soccer all over the world. She has already been to Cologne and Copenhagen. A lot has changed. Khadija also no longer wears the hijab. But that has only a little […] Read More
I love soccer. I love taking pictures. I always have. Especially from people. And then there was this life-changing experience in 2009. About 12 years ago I met up with an friend in Hamburg. At that time he worked for an NGO called streetfootballworld, which use football as a catalyst to tackle social change: children’s rights , social integration, environmental protection, health and peaceful coexistence. They create a network to identify, connect and empower girls and boys across the world. My friend – who new that I love photography – asked me if I would join one of streetfootballworlds projects and capture the Football for Hope Festival in Cape Town end of 2009. This event featured a football tournament where 8 teams battled in a 5-a-side round robin competition. During the competition there will be no referees and the teams will negotiate their own rules to promote communication, understanding and respect. A few weeks later, my plane touched down at Cape Town International airport. It was December, summer in the Cape and almost 30 degrees Celsius. I was rather nervous. I had been to South Africa before, back in 1996, but I was sure that both I and the country had […] Read More
If the history of soccer had been dominated by women, Monica Santino would be on the tip of everyone’s tongue today. Not only because of her strong personality but also because of what she has achieved on the pitch. For the sports journalist and sports teacher, who is now 54 years old, soccer is her life. She sees soccer as a possible path to freedom. Since she was born, Monica fought to break out of norms and become an “anti-princess”. Her first memory, which has to do with happiness, had to do with soccer. She was still a child then. For Monica it was natural to start playing football because she was born into a family that loved football. The family gathering on Sunday consisted of going to the field in Vélez. When she got older, however, she experienced the first resistance to her wanting to play the game she loved from the same people who had urged her to play: her father and grandfather. When her body changed in puberty, it didn’t look so good when playing soccer. She was embarrassed by the looks of others and she suffered. When she grew up, playing soccer no longer fitted into the […] Read More
“I want to have a future with a good education and the freedom to do what I want.” Havere Morina When I met Hava, I got to know a smart, dedicated and passionate young woman. She wants to change the world and be a role model. She is growing up in Hodonoc in Kosovo. She had a happy childhood. When she started to play soccer, things got complicated. Where she lived, no girl played soccer. Women’s soccer was not accepted. But her love for soccer grew every day. And soon she was the only girl playing with boys from her neighborhood. She felt happy and free on the field. But as she got older, neighbors started talking about her behind her back. But her family strengthened her back. You only live once and should live your life freely they encouraged her. But suddenly her life at home became difficult. They were exposed to persecution and her family had to leave home. 2014 they arrived in Germany. A new life began for Hava. She said it felt like being born again. The beginning was not easy. But she is curious about the country she now lives in. She is ambitious. At […] Read More
Sporty Gen. Friederike Abt is originally from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. When she was about 6 years old, a friend of her introduced her to football — and her passion for life was found! Her family members played handball, for a certain time she has also tried, to be successful in both. But one day her mum told her to choose between both sports! Because it was too much time and effort to have one’s cake and eat it, too. So, Rike stopped playing handball when she was 7 years old. From this decision on, the football goal started to be her second home on the field.” What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger! This was the mental part of the situation she was in: Football sport has always been a masculine domain. So, due to the lack of girls, she had to play with boys since she started with football. At the beginning it was hard from time to time, but it gradually led her to a state of mind in which she felt quite empowered. She developed strength and learned to assert herself. Shaping Facts. And there were also the physical components: She had to deal with the embodied […] Read More
Women were once silenced in Lebanon. But since the October revolution 2019 it changed. They are fed up with their spot on the sidelines. They are on the frontlines now, demanding their rights. They want to rewrite their own stories in hopes of a better Lebanon for their future female generations. And involving women in sports is a small step for better conditions and equality for women in Lebanon, but it is a clever way to start changing society. Northern Lebanon is a region that is significantly influenced by the Syrian conflict. The region is characterized by high unemployment rates, religious diversity, and high drug abuse. It is extremely important to support and empower girls and women in this particular region. Women’s rights are often overlooked and neglected when communities experience a crisis or undergo a sudden change process, but it is exactly in these times when it is most necessary to advocate for women’s rights and to empower women in the community. DISCOVER FOOTBALL is partnering with GIZ Local Development Programme for Urban Areas in North Lebanon (UDP_NL) to help to strengthen Northern Lebanon. The overall objective of the project is to increase gender equality by supporting and strengthening […] Read More
If someone had told me that I was going to play football almost 2 months ago, I would have just shake my head and laughed. And then as a goalie. A thing of impossibility. I was a passionate handball player. Football never crossed my mind, because around the corner where I lived, there was simply no possibility. Football became in particular important to me in 2009, when I discovered the power of sport in the context of social change. Behind the camera. But the sport simply pulls you along. You can’t escape it. And so it came to pass that on 30 June I also played in a Guinness World Record football game as a goalkeeper for the first time in my life. After almost working through two days as a photographer, my goal was actually to play 10 minutes only. 1 hour became it finally. And in fact, you get intoxicated. Since 2017 I’m supporting Equal Playing Field (EPF). Together we challenge gender inequality in sport and promote development for girls and women globally. We believe in a world where they are treated equally and are given the respect they deserve. We fight for opportunity, equality and respect in […] Read More
A green football field surrounded by grandstand holding thousands of cheering spectators, celebrating the eleven winners of the match. The other team is devastated. Women in white tricots looking exhausted and very disappointed, one player lays on the field and covers her face to hide her tears. The feeling: It is over, everything. We gave more than 100% percent, but it wasn’t good enough. A few minutes ago, there was still the chance to win, but now we failed in the penalty shootout. It’s June 2019 and the FIFA Woman’s World Cup 2019 took place in France and numerous similar situations happened throughout the knockout stage. But the scenery above took place throughout the World Cup in Germany in 2011. Despite the eight years in between it is still an extremely relevant match concerning the art of losing. But losing is necessary and crucial for human growth. The USA’s football team (USWNT) in white was devastated in 2011, after losing the finals after a stunning penalty shootout. Seeing the winning Japanese team in their triumph moment was a tragic defeat, even more given that the USWNT are famous for their woman’s soccer and Japan was somewhat of a newcomer. Whenever […] Read More
Within our project „Kick it like Lira“, we’re primarily interested in supporting girls to become the best and fiercest version of themselves. As we learned in our last ‘sneak peak’ blog entry, many skills from football playing can be adapted to one’s educational career. Similarly, to football, many branches still fight with negative and reducing prejudices on women’s required skills for the job. In order to prove that these prejudices are anything else but true, Girls’ Future Day, or abbreviated Girls’ Day is a nationwide action day, specifically aimed at broadening girls’ range of career choices. Moreover, it intends to motivate girls and women to take up technical and scientific careers and untypical jobs. Local heroes – helping pave the way Some of the girls presented in our project correspond exactly to this atypical job description. In order to maintain the perfect balance between career and athletics as a young person, you need all-embracing and professional support. The “Kick it like Lira” project therefore cooperates with Anpfiff ins Leben, a non-profit association that supports young athletes and people with amputations in creating the best possible prospects for their private and professional future. A large network of schools, universities, associations, business […] Read More
