Criticism of the German Football Association (DFB), which can be observed every week in the republic’s football stadiums, is now ritualized. Even opposing fan groups sometimes join forces, at least acoustically, to insult the association, for example when a video referee decision is announced. The extent to which one is perceived as unpopular may be subjective – but now the DFB officials are also informed in a scientifically sound way: A panel study by the Ansbach University of Applied Sciences does not suggest much less than a fundamental reorientation of the association. “The 2023 results,” it is said, “show an extremely critical positioning” of those surveyed towards the DFB.
It was not football fans who were surveyed, but rather opinion leaders and interest groups, some of whom are very close to the DFB. The 100 respondents include, for example, former professionals such as Marco Bode or Cacau, the still active Julian Draxler or the goalkeepers Almuth Schult and Kathrin Lehmann, as well as coaches such as Tobias Schweinsteiger or Daniel Thioune, players and officials from amateur clubs, both current and former high-ranking officials and scientists as well as referees, including Deniz Aytekin and Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb.
When selecting the respondents, care was taken to produce as balanced a picture as possible. But their judgment is devastating in some areas. It is not surprising that only two of the 100 participants attest to the DFB being close to the fans. But only two attest to the association’s transparency. Other answers paint a picture according to which the DFB has recently rapidly lost popularity or has increasingly failed to meet expectations.
On an image scale from one (very bad) to five (very good), the DFB ended up with 1.9 – even the German Football League did significantly better here (2.8). When asked an open question, many test subjects mentioned topics such as “disorientation”, “poor communication”, “corruption & cliques and the past not being dealt with in this regard”. When asked whether one could go so far that the popularity of German football would suffer because of the association, co-study director Tim Frohwein said: “I would find that a bit too harsh. But even the stakeholders see a need for improvement.”
Those surveyed see the greatest need for improvement in a “more open error culture”
In any case, this study, for which the idea came up after the disastrous DFB Bundestag in March 2022, is not about damaging the association. “The aim was to identify expectations,” explains Frohwein. The researchers believe that some things could be implemented quickly by the DFB – especially since a reform-friendly wing can now be identified within the DFB. Those surveyed saw the greatest need for improvement in a “more open error culture” (21 percent), followed by “more proximity to amateurs” (18 percent) and “more commitment to socially relevant topics” (17 percent). At least: The DFB is meeting the expectations; on the Monday before last, the study organizers were invited to Frankfurt to explain the results in detail.
Open detailed view
As balanced a picture as possible: Former referee Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb was one of the test subjects.
(Photo: Ulmer/Imago)
Furthermore, the study should not remain a snapshot. It will now be carried out a total of three times every year, also to ask the same participants about the new expectations after the 2024 European Championship in their own country, or about any initial measures that may have been taken. The present study aims to provide impulses and orientation for a transformation process. The first announcement states: “How does the DFB achieve real organizational, political and substantive change that can meet the expectations of its stakeholders as much as possible and pave the way to becoming a sustainable, socially relevant and successful sports association?” A question that obviously had to be asked externally because no answer could be found internally.
