Sportschau Topic: How homophobic is football?

In January 2014, the coming out of former national soccer player Thomas Hitzlsperger caused a stir – far beyond the world of sport.

Almost seven years have passed since then and no other active or former Bundesliga professional has publicly declared that he is also gay. No one in the other major European football leagues has followed his example either.

“Sportschau Thema” therefore asks: How homophobic is the footballWhat prevents gay professional footballers from being open about their homosexuality?

What do clubs, associations, players and fans have to do to change this? And what can men's football learn from women's football?

In the studio, presenter Jessy Wellmer welcomes the CEO of VfB Stuttgart, Thomas Hitzlsperger, the former German national player and 2016 Olympic champion, Tabea Kemme, as well as Kevin Kühnert (SPD), who had his public coming out in 2018 and is a big football fan.

Das Erste will broadcast the program on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, directly after the “Sportschau – Fußball-Bundesliga” from 00:00.

DFB President Fritz Keller will also be joining in from Frankfurt. Background information will also be provided by several reports: “Sportschau Thema” visits the Streetboys Munich, the only gay football team that competes in the DFB’s official league.

In a second film, publicist Carolin Emcke and journalist Moritz Müller-Wirth report on how they accompanied Thomas Hitzlsperger's coming out and what is not yet known about it.

Player agents reveal what they would recommend to gay footballers. The show also takes a look at the USA: This is where Megan Rapinoe lives, the football icon who fights like no other for the rights of homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people.

Collin Martin, one of the few professional football players in the world who admitted to being gay during his active career, also plays in the USA.

© Photo: Sven Kucinic, Unsplash