Fight for space and respect: Hessian amateur football in crisis!

Fight for space and respect: Hessian amateur football in crisis!

This weekend the football community will meet in Berlin for the DFB Cup final, while at the same time the challenges in amateur football in Hesse are increasing. Representatives of Hessian amateur football shed light on the current situation against the background of growing problems and visited clubs in Offenbach and Frankfurt. For example, the U17 girls group from Kickers Offenbach, which is fighting for the title, trains. But assistant coach Alexander Zenker expresses his concerns about the low interest in amateur games compared to the Bundesliga.

Zenker draws attention to the difficulties that exist when recruiting coaches and referees. Referees are often unavailable, which leads to game cancellations and improvised solutions. Of particular concern is the negative treatment of young referees by parents and coaches, which is detrimental to young referees who are already under pressure. The picture is particularly dismal in rural areas, where there is a shortage of trainers, while in urban areas there are space problems, reports the Hesse show.

Overloaded places and training of young talent

The situation is further illustrated by reports from Harald Seehausen, President of SG Grün-Weiß Bornheim. He speaks of eleven clubs that have to train and play at the same time on just one pitch. His hopes of expanding the club's premises are low, as the building land in Frankfurt is extremely valuable. On the positive side, however, Silke Sinning, the president of the Hessian Football Association, notes increasing numbers in boys' and girls' football. The SG Grün-Weiß Bornheim has decided to take action and is training 16 young people in dealing with children in order to attract future trainers.

The association also offers internships for students and maintains close contacts with schools in order to attract even more young trainers. Despite the numerous challenges, people like Zenker and Seehausen are passionate about amateur football.

Violence against referees – A worrying phenomenon

Another pressing issue dominating the discussion around amateur football is violence against referees. According to the Hessian Ministry of the Interior, there were verbal or physical attacks on referees in 289 games in the 2022/2023 season, which corresponds to 0.25 percent of the total 113,902 games from the 5th league downwards. These numbers have increased in some cases over the last few years: While 270 incidents were counted in the 2021/2022 season, there were 216 in 2019/2020 and 364 in 2018/2019. Police recorded a total of 395 crimes, mostly assault, from 2018 to 2022, while at least eleven of these crimes were against referees in 2018, 2019 and 2022, as fr.de reported.

Potentially frightening incidents, such as a father's threat against a 15-year-old referee and the tragic death of a 15-year-old player after a fight, have reignited the debate about violence in amateur football. State Secretary Sauer has made it clear that such incidents are incompatible with the values ​​of sport. The state government is therefore promoting projects to prevent violence and fairness in sport in cooperation with clubs and the Hessian Football Association in order to stop this worrying development.

A positive signal from the DFB

At the same time, there are positive trends to report from the DFB area. The annual surveys on the state of amateur football show that more football games were played in the 2023/2024 season than in previous years. The DFB points to the positive developments, reporting that the total number of incidents of violence and discrimination has fallen by 6.3 percent. There were 909 games canceled in the current season, a decrease of 5.5 percent compared to 963 last year. This indicates a general improvement, despite an increase in the number of games played, as stated in a post dfb.de is mentioned.

The challenges in amateur football are diverse, but the commitment of the clubs and the positive trends in the DFB show that there are also bright spots. It remains to be hoped that the discussions at the DFB Cup final in Berlin will lead to strengthening amateur football and combating violence and discrimination.