Soccer-Voss-Tecklenburg wants the German company to support female footballers
Germany head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg wants female footballers to be recognized “as strong people” after her side finished second to hosts England in the European Championship on Sunday.
“We all want this tournament to be sustainable,” she told a press conference after Germany’s bid for a record ninth European title ended in a 2-1 defeat at the stadium. Wembley. “We want to find a way in society to see solidarity and to see women as strong people because we have a lot of topics that we have started discussions on.
“We need support from the media, from society, from politics. We have made a statement and we don’t want to settle for that, we want to continue.” England triumphed after Chloe Kelly’s 110th-minute goal handed the hosts their first major women’s title.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday he would meet FA national director Oliver Bierhoff to advocate for equal pay for women footballers in the country. While members of Germany’s women’s team were promised 60,000 euros ($61,308) if they won Euro 2022, their male counterparts will pocket a much more generous 400,000 euros if they win the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
German female footballers study and work alongside the professional game. Despite Sunday’s result, Voss-Tecklenburg believes Germany can build on how they demolished their opponents heading into the final.
“We have already said that this tournament is a stepping stone in our development,” added Voss-Tecklenburg. “It wasn’t enough now but it takes us to the next step. Such a game changes personalities, it makes you grow regardless of the outcome. We want to have our leaders and we have even more younger players and we need to develop them further.
“I hope we go to the World Cup (next year) and we want to play like we did here as a team that plays with courage, has a clear task, has great passion and loves what she does.” Midfielder Lena Oberdorf, 20 – named Young Player of the Tournament – is one of those who could offer her country a bright future.
“Lena, like many others, had an incredible tournament. She will continue to grow, she has more potential,” added Voss-Tecklenburg. “Maybe next year at the World Cup she could be more dangerous in attack. She has exceeded her limits like all the other players in different ways, so we are very, very happy that Lena is part of our team.”
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