Germany: Grassroots football working toward trans inclusion

The World Aquatics open-gender category at last month's swimming World Cup in Berlin was described as a "pilot project" aimed at highlighting the organization's "unwavering commitment to inclusivity."

However, the project fell flat as not a single athlete registered to compete in the new category – an outcome that some had already foreseen.

'Forced coming out instead of inclusion'

"We had criticized the introduction of this category in advance. The fact that no one came forward is understandable and was no surprise to us," Mara Geri, a board member of the Lesbian and Gay Association in Germany (LSVD), told DW.

"There aren't that many professional athletes in swimming. To then register as a trans person in a separate group like that borders on a forced coming out," Geri added.

"This makes trans people second-class people who don't really belong. In our opinion, this is certainly not inclusion, but a huge step toward exclusion."

Fear of discrimination and exclusion

It's not just high-performance sports where transgender people feel excluded or even isolated. In the first comprehensive European survey of LGBTQ athletes conducted by the German Sport University Cologne in 2019, 20% of respondents stated that they did not participate in their chosen sport for fear of discrimination, exclusion or negative comments. The survey found that 56% of trans people and 73% of trans men felt excluded from certain sports due to their gender identity. Almost all of the respondents agreed that homophobia and transphobia are a problem in sport.

Berlin football plots own path

The Berlin Football Association (BFV) broke new ground back in 2019, by becoming one of the first sports organizations in Germany to establish inclusive rules. There, people who identify as non-binary are free to choose whether they want play with the men or the women. In addition, trans people are automatically eligible to play for the team they choose during gender transition.

"You have to make a distinction. We have people who play in amateur leagues and those who just play," Michaela Jessica Tschitschke, who was recently appointed as the BFV's advisor on sexual diversity told DW.

According to Tschitschke, a 43-year-old trans woman who plays and coaches at a women's team in Berlin, around 15 trans people are currently getting involved on the city's football pitches.

"These people mainly play in women's teams. They (women) are usually more open to trans people," said Tschitschke. 

In Tschitschke's experience, trans men who want to play on men's teams have a much more difficult time gaining acceptance.

"Unfortunately, most of them then give up. That's a shame because we've often supported these people for a long time."

Gaining acceptance remains a battle

Even if the trans person is fully accepted by their own team, they often still face prejudice from opposing teams, Tschitschke said.

"Then problems arise. Unfortunately, it's usually about the assumption that they are at an advantage in terms of their performance."

Last year, the German Football Association (DFB) amended its match regulations to include the Berlin inclusion rules.

"Some regional associations have already implemented them. In others, things remain stalled," Tschitschke said.

While the total number of people affected still may be quite small, Tschitschke is upbeat. "We have already made some changes."

This article was originally published in German.

Edited by: Jonathan Harding