"Future Leaders in Football"
Leading together. Initiating change together.

Diversity, tolerance and equality are all social issues that also play a central role in football. However, successful teamwork is only possible if associations, institutions and industry advocate for female talent in particular to be given the opportunity to develop – both on and off the pitch. Like in the Future Leaders in Football workshop series.

Participants from 17 nations and four continents in Berlin

Future Leaders in Football was brought into being by the DFB, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (German society for international collaboration) in 2020. Volkswagen actively supports the workshop series as a partner. To date, 90 participants have benefited from the content of the leadership workshops. The lessons learned have been fed back to around 25 football associations worldwide. Participants from 17 nations and four continents came together in Berlin for a highlight edition to further consolidate the skills acquired.

“Primarily, the young professionals are helped to create safe spaces in which they can generate this exchange and learn from each other,” emphasises Ina Hommers, GIZ Director General Client Liaison and Business Development. “This network is also used to develop own projects, which the participants then take back to their countries and regions to promote football and the role of women in football there.” Hommers is particularly impressed by the fact “that as GIZ we, along with the DFB, Volkswagen, and the BMZ, are able to make this type of exchange and this type of tool available to female managers.”

Volkswagen makes active contribution at highlight edition

In addition to the involvement in Future Leaders in Football with the attitude campaign “One Europe. One Feeling. One Football.” for Euro 2024, Volkswagen is making another strong statement on behalf of diversity and equality – and actively participates in the international workshop series. Patrick Wilke is responsible for change projects, process optimisation, and leadership culture at Volkswagen, and gave the participants in Berlin insights into his work. Wilke shared his thoughts and experiences from 20 years of consulting with the group: “I’m delighted that I was able to give the participants methods to help them in their challenges.” At the end of his presentation, Wilke offered the participants free coaching sessions to help the future managers as they continue their journey.

“You need partners like that to make a difference,” said former international player Almuth Schult, full of praise. “Volkswagen is backing the project with the company’s intrinsic motivation. They want to make a difference within the Group and create this equality themselves. Which is why the collaboration with Future Leaders in Football is a great fit.” Schult feels that the format is “incredibly important”. It is necessary to embolden women to keep on doing what they are doing and to keep on promoting women in football and in women’s football. “Not every association naturally focusses on this yet, which is why I am very happy that there are formats like Future Leaders in Football supporting this development.”

However, it is a process since women are still underrepresented in sport as well – be that as players, officials, or in management positions in associations. “Women make up 50 percent of society and often do not have the same opportunities and rights, cannot have a say, or help shape decisions,” warns Ina Hommers. However, the GIZ Director General Client Liaison and Business Development goes on to clarify: “We need men to support us. Particularly in sport, particularly in football. But we also need the space for women, to allow them to develop further.”

Moving stories and impressive successes

In the final session of the highlight edition at the DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum, it was evident just how important the project is to the participants. “Future Leaders in Football has become my second family,” said Rinesa Kryeziu. The 22-year-old footballer from Kosovo was the youngest participant in the workshop and she now works for the football association in her home country and is a referee.

Jihan Alfindi of Iraq confidently took hold of the microphone to share her story: at the age of twelve, she was forbidden to play football. The now 27-year-old spent a long time fighting for her rights. In part thanks to the support of Future Leaders in Football, she is now studying at the German Sport University in Cologne and is working for Düzen Tekkal’s human rights organisation HÁWAR.help, as well as the SCORING GIRLS* project initiated by Düzen’s sister Tuğba Tekkal.

Fatameh Sharif Noghabi of Iran has established a close-knit network through participating in the programme and has already enjoyed great success: with her meticulous work, the Iranian football association employee managed to get women’s football matches in her country to be shown on television.

Sights set on continuation of the leadership programme

Future Leaders in Football proves that it is possible to use specific projects to teach skills and expertise to achieve equality in sport. We have embarked on this journey, but it is far from over. “Everyone who was in this room today and felt this energy has seen that we need to keep going,” says Heike Ullrich. “We will sit down with our partners and think about how to shape the coming years with these women, and how to inspire even more women to take part in the programme.”