News

DFB President Keller: "We need more women in football"

Football must involve more women, including in the DFB, said Fritz Keller upon taking office. In an interview with DFB.de, the DFB president talks about today’s International Women’s Day, what has been done so far in this regard, which hurdles are still to be overcome and the goals he has for women’s football in Germany.

DFB.de: Mr. Keller, we are celebrating International Women’s Day today. Why do we need more women in football too?

Fritz Keller: We need more women in football because we want to depict society as diverse as it is actually is. Because grey-haired officials can perhaps always think along the same lines and sometimes spread their elbows too quickly. There are lots of examples which show that companies and organisations which have women in executive positions achieve much, much better results. More sustainable.

DFB.de: What do you mean by that?

Keller: I’m no social sciences expert, but I can tell you from experience that we did well in my company to put key roles in the hands of women. Look at big companies or at politics. Would a man have used the role differently from our Chancellor of Germany? Yes, I’m sure of it. I find the calmness that she radiates really strong; she is a calm and balancing influence.

DFB.de: And in football?

Keller: It’s shameful how far behind we are. How long did it take us to have a woman refereeing a Champions League match? Actually I feel ashamed for them. We celebrated 50 years of women’s football only last year. Men have had almost a 100-year head start in football.

DFB.de: How about the DFB?



Football must involve more women, including in the DFB, said Fritz Keller upon taking office. In an interview with DFB.de, the DFB president talks about today’s International Women’s Day, what has been done so far in this regard, which hurdles are still to be overcome and the goals he has for women’s football in Germany.

DFB.de: Mr. Keller, we are celebrating International Women’s Day today. Why do we need more women in football too?

Fritz Keller: We need more women in football because we want to depict society as diverse as it is actually is. Because grey-haired officials can perhaps always think along the same lines and sometimes spread their elbows too quickly. There are lots of examples which show that companies and organisations which have women in executive positions achieve much, much better results. More sustainable.

DFB.de: What do you mean by that?

Keller: I’m no social sciences expert, but I can tell you from experience that we did well in my company to put key roles in the hands of women. Look at big companies or at politics. Would a man have used the role differently from our Chancellor of Germany? Yes, I’m sure of it. I find the calmness that she radiates really strong; she is a calm and balancing influence.

DFB.de: And in football?

Keller: It’s shameful how far behind we are. How long did it take us to have a woman refereeing a Champions League match? Actually I feel ashamed for them. We celebrated 50 years of women’s football only last year. Men have had almost a 100-year head start in football.

DFB.de: How about the DFB?

Keller: In the DFB we now have more women in executive positions at our central office. We have set up a leadership programme for women to strengthen them and we are part of a under 30s council to which the regional associations each send one man and one woman. That should be a sign. Of course it’s not enough, but we have to start somewhere. Every seventh member of the DFB is a woman, so we’re on our way to reaching more women as members. It starts in the Bundesliga and goes down to the local leagues. And it cannot continue to happen as it always does that a local team achieves promotion to a higher regional league, then needs more money for its men’s team and cuts off the women’s team as a result. I told the Bundesliga clubs when I took office that we need funding for women’s football. Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and Eintracht Frankfurt are now heavily involved in women’s football. In England there are many sponsors who will only work with clubs who are active in women’s football. That will come to Germany at some point too.

DFB.de: How should we approach these changes?

Keller: I know that it’s a long time away and that there’s a huge amount of work still to do, but it’s coming. I want at least a third of executive positions in the DFB to be held by women. When you take a look at our board, it’s practically only guys who look like me: slightly overweight with grey hair. And where are the women? We have a woman, Hannelore Ratzeburg, who is in charge of women’s football, she is also the equal opportunities officer. But we need more women in leading positions. There are so many good and well-trained women who are interested in football and are great football experts. But this is an electoral office. Our members are elected by the state associations and there are more men available to choose from there. But why? Because we don’t tell young women that we need them. I’m on the college council at the Music College of Freiburg and we’ve been trying there for years to get more female professors. But we had too few applications.

DFB.DE: So that means that something has to be done at the grassroots level in order to make sure things at the top change, right?

Keller: Democracy is always a long process. However, I sense a great openness among my colleagues in the associations of each Bundesland, especially amongst the younger ones. I think it’s still a matter of the generation and the upbringing that some have had. I was lucky in that my grandmother was a very dominant figure and a single parent who showed me what women can achieve in a male-dominated society. I learned so much from her, so I feel more privileged than others who didn’t have that upbringing. Society has to change as well; it’s a step-by-step process to introduce diversity into all clubs and companies.

DFB.DE: What specifically has to change?

Keller: We have to be open. We need courageous young women who will step up and say: “Hey, I'm here. I can do this job and I want it.” In a male-dominated society, you need men who will support that as well. It should be the skill, qualifications, qualities and the perseverance that count, and not gender. A society lives through change and only those who can adapt to that change will endure. Those who cannot eventually fall. The signs of change have been obvious for a long time now, and those who do not understand that are no longer the people of the moment.

DFB.DE: Do we need a quota for women in football?

Keller: I’m a strong opponent of quotas as they give rise to accusations that women who have fought hard to achieve their positions are just there because of the quota. That being said, if there’s no other way then it’s better than nothing. But in general, the selection process should be solely about qualifications and ability. It should take into account assertiveness and, above all, the ability of being able to work in a team. I often feel that the team spirit in women’s football is better than that of men’s football. Just look at how our teams in the FLYERALARAM Women's National League got through the pandemic. They didn't have it as easy as the men because most of the players are students or semi-professionals, and they still managed. They have a lot of discipline. But again, the most important thing is to give the young women the courage and the training opportunities. We also need more women on refereeing courses.

DFB.de: When will we see a female coach in the Bundesliga?

Keller: That is a good question. The clubs themselves will obviously have to decide that though. They are definitely capable, that’s for sure. It’s about a club having the courage to give a woman in this role. We still have a lot to do, that goes without saying. But we also have to empower women so that they want to take on such a role. It’s important to leave the door open, but every applicant has to take the leap themselves. Obviously there are people everywhere that are fighting it out for those jobs. It’s like in politics; how long did it take us to have a female chancellor? But that was possible and so it must be possible in sport as well. I am convinced of that.

DFB.de: Where do we start?

Keller: We have to start with young female players so that women’s football is played in every club in every village. Unfortunately that isn’t the case right now. I know that it’s a tough ask, but they are the ones who will make an impact on society. The future success of associations, clubs or businesses will depend on cooperation to form a strategy to unite the sexes or ensure that gender plays no role at all. Men can’t do that alone. We have to show the red card to anyone who stands in the way of diversity and equal rights.

DFB.de: what is the DFB doing to ensure the development of women’s football?

Keller: Our joint bid with the Netherlands and Belgium for the 2027 World Cup is a key component of that. As a proud European, I would be really happy to host the tournament together and stoke the passion for women’s football. With our strategic “Women in Football” project, we want to improve football for women, with the help of women. We want more women to take up roles and leadership positions within the DFB. More girls and women should be playing football at club level and there should be more women becoming referees, standing on the sidelines and coaching teams. Together with the DFL, we want to support women’s football so that we can tastemore success with the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga and with our national team. To make women’s football more popular in Germany, we especially need greater media presence. That’s what we’re working towards.

*These quotes from Fritz Keller first appeared in Claudia Neumann’s TV documentary "Frauen im Männerfußball" (“Women in Men’s Football”).