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June 21: Exhibition and mini tournament

In Kiev, the first stop on our tour, our activities were focused on the European village set up especially for the Euro. There, the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) had allocated us room for our exhibition and the round table discussion in the middle of the city, right below the Bow of Friendship. We presented our work for interested passers by and collected new portraits and stories for our exhibition.

Together with our local partner, the Kiev-based women’s football club NRG, we chaired an exciting mini tournament with women’s teams from Kiev and all over Ukraine. On the small Soccercourt we played 4 on 4 at ca. 32 degrees Celsius. What was a great challenge for us, turned out to be nothing for many futsal-experienced Ukrainian teams. The NRG team was then duly rewarded for their organisational efforts and their great achievement on the pitch with the tournament win. Two reports from Ukrainian tv give you an impression of the atmosphere at the tournament:

In spite of our loss we were extremely happy to see the great fervour and enthusiasm of the Ukrainian players. Since there are comparably few women’s football tournaments in Ukraine, the mini tournament was a great opportunity for them to prove their skills. The whole day was a tribute to passion and the joy of the game, which are also reflected in the new photos for the exhibition.

June 22: Round table discussion

In cooperation with the Goethe Insitute and the Women’s Consort we organised a round table discussion in the conference tent of the European village. The focus in this was on the situation of women’s football in Ukraine – a marginal topic in the Ukrainian media. In response to the great interest in this discussion we decided to offer two panels in a row. While the first panel concentrated on active players, the second panel examined the structure and organisation of women’s football in Ukraine.

The event brought together active players from all over Ukraine, who informed each other about their respective engagement in football and different possibilities and activities. The discussants identified diverse problems and obstacles in women’s football on a structural as well as on the societal level. At the same time, they emphasised some positive developments in recent years and expressed hope for more support in the future. Overall, the discussion made clear that in Ukrainian women’s football there is a great need to create networks and build connections, and that there are still many gender stereotypes and prejudices to overcome.

June 15 and 16: Exhibition

On our third stop, in Wroclaw, we were stationed in the Stara Giedła (’Old Stock Market’) on Plac Solny (’Salt Square’), one of the city’s most important historical buildings located in the city centre, just next to the fan zone. The porter, who was expecting a UEFA-delegation from Germany, looked incredulously at us with our camping mats and sleeping bags. However, with our experts’ knowledge in football we managed to impress him and finally to convince him to reliquish the reserved parking space to us: the foyer, which seemed just made for our Crafter!

Directly in front of the ‘Old Stock Market’, in the middle of noisy Polish and Czech football fans waiting for the night’s match, our exhibition then finally premiered. Lured over by some street play with our pink football, numerous fans visited the interactive exhibition and quickly became a part of it with their photo messages. A lot of people were thus conveyed an image of women’s football as exciting and fun.

June 13: Exhibition and Panel

Our second stop was Poznan. Our local partners, the feminist organisation Konsola, had organised a space for our mobile exhibition in the culture centre Zamek inside the city castle of Poznan. After a press meeting, we were able to take new photos for our exhibition. Here is a piece about our stay in Poznan on Polish television.

At night there was a small panel on women’s football in Poland. Next to DISCOVER FOOTBALL on the podium was the president of POLONIA POZNAŃ Andrzej Powstański. His team plays in the second women’s league in Poland, the I liga kobiet. Among the audience were two players from AWF POZNAŃ PIŁKA NOŻNA KOBIET, who managed this season to get promoted to the second league as well.

All the participants recognized major problems in the lack of attention and recognition for women’s football. No sponsors without media coverage, no money without sponsors, no progress in women’s football without money. Furthermore, rigid gender roles contribute to make football unpopular as a sport for women and girls.

The most successful Polish women’s football clubs, which play in the Ekstraliga (the highest league), interestingly come from rather small cities. This website offers an overview (in Polish) over the different leagues: www.kobiecapilka.pl

June 14: Mini tournament with football players from Poznan

The next day was all for football. The players from AWF POZNAŃ PIŁKA NOŻNA KOBIET, some of them specialised in futsal, lined up in several teams. The DISCOVER FOOTBALL team was supported by local players, which helped us land second place. After the award ceremony we started collecting photos for our exhibition and later watched the game Spain vs. Ireland together with the other players and many Croatian and Irish fans on the old Market Square in Poznan.

Today our footballers travelled back to Bremen, Warsaw and the Ukraine. After an exciting final between the Champions and the Fighters the winners were awarded before we watched Poland vs. Russia together and had a goodbye party. In a film workshop during the exchange the girls made this video.

We’re in Mikuszewo since Thursday, it is the first stop on our tour. We are living here with girls from Poland, Ukraine and Germany in an old mansion close to Poznan. Besides workshops, some getting-to-know-you activities, football practice and our own mini tournament, we spent every night watching the Euro in Polish bars. It’s Ukraine’s first match today after Poland and Germany already started the tournament. For more pictures and stories please visit our Facebook page.

DISCOVER FOOTBALL tour dates
07. – 13. Juni Mikuszewo – Girls football exchange
13. – 14. Juni Posen
15. – 17. Juni Breslau
20. – 22. Juni Kiew
24. – 26. Juni Lemberg
28. – 30. Juni Warschau

International women’s football tournament in July 2013 and expert seminar on women’s football and empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa in November 2012 in Berlin. More information and application form here…

Tournoi international de football féminin en juillet 2013 et forum d’expertes sur le football féminin et l’émancipation des femmes au Moyen Orient et en Afrique du Nord. Le forum de discussions aura lieu du 26 au 30 novembre à Berlin, Allemagne. Formulaire de candidature pour le tournoi el le  forum d’expertes ici…

15. May
Discussion with Dr. Sahar El-Hawary and Petra Landers

Being the daughter of a FIFA referee, Dr. Sahar El-Hawary grew up with football, but was not allowed to play during the 1980s in Egypt. In the beginning of the 1990s she succeeded in building up her own team which inspired the emergence of many women’s football clubs around Egypt and even beyond its borders. Petra Landers played in the first german national team and
is like Hawary one of the pioneers of women’s football.

English with German Translation
8:00 pm at taz Cafe, Rudi-Dutschke-Str. 23, 10969 Berlin

Our DISCOVER FOOTBALL tour through Poland and the Ukraine will start in a few weeks…there are a lot of opportunities to participate…if you want to learn more, click here.

Mit DISCOVER FOOTBALL treten wir für Gleichberechtigung und Emanzipation, Frauenrechte und Empowerment von Frauen ein. Um diese Ziele zu erreichen ermöglichen wir über den Fußball besondere Begegnungen, zeigen starke Frauen und vernetzen Frauenfußballteams weltweit. Mit einer Fördermitgliedschaft unterstützen Sie / unsterstützt Du uns in unserem Engagement.

Vielen Dank!

Football Under Cover dokumentiert in bewegenden Eindrücken das erste öffentliche Frauenfußballspiel im Iran seit der Revolution von 1979. Der Film wurde weltweit mit zahlreichen Preisen ausgezeichnet.

Nach dem Film sprechen die Produzentin des Films Marlene Assmann und die Iranistin Maryam Mameghanian-Prenzlow über die soziale und politische Lage von Frauen im Iran und über Chancen des Frauenfußballs. Maryam Mameghanian-Prenzlows Forschungsschwerpunkte sind Bilder von Weiblichkeit und Sexualität in moderner persischer Literatur sowie iranische Filme und iranische Kunst aus der Gender-Perspektive. Marlene Assmann steht weiterhin im regen Austausch mit Fußballerinnen im Iran und ist Mitbegründerin von DISCOVER FOOTBALL.

Screening of «Football Under Cover» followed by a discussion with the producer Marlene Assmann and Maryam Mameghanian-Prenzlow. The documentary joins a Berlin women’s football team in their quest to play against the Iranian women’s national team. A movie about utopia, resistance, friendship, and football. Maryam Mameghanian-Prenzlow works on feminist interprations of gender roles in Iran. Marlene Assmann is one of the founders of DISCOVER FOOTBALL.

8. März 2012, 19 Uhr im Tante Horst, Oranienstr. 45, 10969 Berlin

Mehr Informationen zur Veranstaltungsreihe Fussball im Fruehling