Paving The Way For My Future
Hanna Hartwig, Germany
Futbalo Girls is a football programme that reaches girls from German communities where social, economic, and cultural challenges are abundant. Futbalo Girls provides a supportive and inclusive environment for girls in football, promoting gender equality and overall well-being. This includes weekly football courses and events for girls aged 6-12 in schools. Hanna Hartwig is a coach with Futbalo Girls.
My name is Hanna Hartwig. I am 23 years old and from the town of Lingen in the north-west of Germany, close to the Netherlands. Dancing was my first hobby, but at the age of 8, I started to play football.
My best friend asked me to join the junior football team at our local sports club. The club was quite proud to have girls’ teams, but they still tended to underestimate us in comparison to their boys’ teams. The boys got more attention, and they were provided with better access to equipment and the resources of the club.
When I was 15, I received my first coaching certificate. Except for two other women, all the participants were men. As a licensed coach, I trained a boys’ football team at my local sports club for three years, and the fact that I am a woman was never a problem there.
Coaching inspired me to become a teacher. After I finished school, I studied Physical Education and German at the University of Osnabrück. I had to stop coaching the boys’ team because of the distance. But luckily I came across the Futbalo Girls programme and now I coach weekly football sessions for girls in primary schools in Osnabrück through the programme.
What did you try to capture with the photos? Was there a wider meaning?
Most of the photos were taken during our weekly Futbalo Girls sessions. Usually, the sessions take place indoors but since the primary school’s gym is being renovated, we have been playing outside too. Other photos show me and my friend playing football on a public playground in the middle of Osnabrück.
The photos show the girls who attend the weekly Futbalo Girls sessions. The girls come from different cultural backgrounds and many of them speak two languages, but one thing they all have in common is their love for football. I tried to capture the girls’ friendships that they have made through the football sessions, and show that girls with different personal, social, and cultural identities can form a close bond through football.
For many of the girls it was their first contact with football and over the course of the school year, they became friends and we grew into a real team.
Through the years, I have got to know the girls quite well and it is remarkable to see them not only improving their football skills, but also to see their growth in personality. They gain more self-confidence with every session they attend.
What is your favourite photograph? Why?
In one photo you can see the girls performing their team ritual. At first sight, this might look like an ordinary thing to do for a football team, but it reminds me of the beginning of our sessions and how far they have come as a team.
Our session had to take place outside in the school playground. We built goals out of school bags and some of the girls played in their skirts and dresses. It makes me proud that the girls show their team spirit every session through this ritual and that they have not lost their joy and interest in football.
What role does football play in your community and German society? Is football an inclusive sport that anyone can play?
In Germany, football is very popular. Many children and adults are members of a football club. Even in my small hometown, football is the most popular sport. The football field is the place where you meet your friends. Besides men’s and boys’ teams, our local club also offers teams for women and girls. However, football for women was officially banned by the DFB, Germany's largest nationwide football federation, until 1970. So for a long time, football in Germany was an exclusive sport for men and boys only.
What are the opportunities for women and girls to play sports in your community and in Germany?
Nowadays, most clubs in Germany have women’s teams. However, the number of these teams available to play in depends on the particular region and on football’s popularity there. With regard to professional football, the men’s teams are much more popular than the women’s teams. For example, free TV and streaming providers show just about all the games of the top three men's leagues in Germany. Unfortunately, this cannot be said for the women. Even in football at the grassroots level, the men’s teams often receive more support from the club and the sponsors.
What impact has the Futbalo Girls program had on you and your community?
The Futbalo Girls programme has helped me to improve my confidence. I have gained experience working with diverse groups of people which will be helpful for me when I become a teacher. Furthermore, the programme showed me that I chose the right career path as I realised how much I enjoy working with children.
Nevertheless, I appreciate the fact that the Futbalo Girls sessions are different from regular Physical Education lessons in school and therefore a welcome change for the participants. The way of dealing with each other is less formal and authoritarian.
For example, in German there is a difference in addressing people who are hierarchically superior to you. Students address teachers using "Sie" rather than "Du," the latter being less formal. In English, there is no such distinction. Both expressions are translated as "you". Thus, for the girls, I represent a friend or a coach rather than a teacher.
What does football mean to you?
Football is my only hobby that I still practise regularly and actively. I have always enjoyed football. In addition, football showed me at an early age that I enjoy teaching sports. That is why I am also studying to become a teacher. So football has paved the way for my future.
What ambitions do you have for the future?
In the future, I would like to continue working for Futbalo Girls. I would like to encourage more girls to play football. The Futbalo Girls programme allows me to gain more experience for my future career as a Physical Education teacher. My goal is to transfer the knowledge that I acquire while working for Futbalo Girls to my future physical education lessons. It is important to me that I never lose my ambition to get other people excited about sports.
What do you think the future looks like for sport in your community and country? What do you want to change? How would you improve gender equality?
I hope that there will be more equality in football in the future. In general, I am rather sceptical that football for women will ever get the same attention as men's football. In order to create more equality, existing prejudices must be tackled so that women's football is accepted in the same way.
This must happen at all levels of football. Boards and sponsors must ensure that girls and women receive more support. Programmes like Futbalo Girls can also contribute to equality by helping girls find their way into the sport and get them excited about football.
