Herbert Hainer briefly slipped into the role of director – or coach. “Come on, let’s quickly build a proper back four,” the FC Bayern president called to the crowd, and with a smile, those addressed lined up for a joint photo on the stadium turf of the FC Bayern Campus, all paying attention to masks and distancing in addition to their testing. Hainer had spontaneously chosen a coherent phrase: FC Bayern and the initiatives “buntkicktgut” and “Queerpass Bayern” speak the same language. They are united: in football and beyond.
Present as thanks for workshops
Together with Campus Director Jochen Sauer, Hainer presented special gifts to the representatives of “buntkicktgut” and “Queerpass Bayern” as a thank-you from FC Bayern for holding a total of six workshops on the topic of diversity, in which a total of 77 youngsters and the coaching team from the German record champions’ youth team had taken part during the “International Week Against Racism” as part of the FCB’s “Red Against Racism” initiative. The presents were each a shirt with all signatures of thise who had taken part. “It is a fundamental concern of ours to deal with issues such as tolerance and diversity in a substantive and sustainable way,” said Hainer, “with actions such as these workshops, we want to further promote awareness of our stance against racism, homophobia and exclusion of any kind.”
The workshops, developed and conducted with campus directors Dr. Eva Zier and Patrick Pech, are one of many building blocks in FC Bayern’s youth development work, “because we pursue a holistic education,” Sauer explained. “How important it is to look beyond the pitch is something our guys were able to experience once again in these workshops.” The cooperation with “buntkicktgut,” which, through street football, brings together young people of different cultures and national origins, has been in place for a good four years, according to the campus director: “Some of our players have already completed internships with this initiative and are now specifically thinking about doing federal voluntary service. We think that’s great.”
Entry point for further joint initiatives
For Rüdiger Heid, head of “buntkickgut,” the workshops were “another great example of authentic, functioning interaction between two clubs that are dedicated to important social issues. Through content-related discussions, the backgrounds “can be brought into the teams, the lads realise very quickly here that this is not just a show, but has depth. The implementation of projects like this is what characterises FC Bayern’s desire to make a credible difference, for example with an initiative like ‘Reds Against Racism’. At FC Bayern, social values are actually embodied. For us, these workshops were a wonderful experience – happy to do it again in this manner!”
Tom Ponetsmüller and Alessandro Morbio had been pleased to receive an invitation from FC Bayern to hold joint workshops on the subject of homosexuality. “It is important to discuss such topics openly, especially with young people, because awareness and understanding develop at a young age,” said Sandro Morbio. Tom Ponetsmüller: “It was fun, and from our point of view it was the start for further joint initiatives. FC Bayern has a huge influence. When it dedicates itself to a topic like this, it sends a signal to the whole world.”
All info for “Reds against Racism” here:
