"Access to drinking water is the most important thing": Neven Subotic about his life, Africa and the consequences of colonialism

Created: 2022-10-24 21:03

By: Thomas Copytz

Neven Subotic reads from his new book "Allesmachen" at the Literaturherbst in Göttingen.

In an interview, the ex-soccer star talks about his life, Africa and the consequences of colonialism.

Göttingen – Neven Subotic has made an extraordinary change, changing his life from a money-spoilt professional footballer to a foundation founder and a fighter for human rights.

In his book "Everything" he talks about it, as reported by hna.de.

Subotic will read at the Göttinger Literaturherbst on Thursday, November 3rd, in the Funsporthalle Göttingen, Bertha-von-Suttner-Straße 2. We spoke to him.

Ex-soccer star Neven Subotic in an interview about his life, Africa and the consequences of colonialism

Neven Subotic: The former soccer professional helps with his foundation in African countries.

© Pedersen/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa

“The world is bigger than a ball” – your quote shows that your life has changed massively so that the lives of people in Africa can improve.

How far are you along the path of this change in yourself?

I actually go there all the time.

My day-to-day work at the foundation helps me with this, as I deal with how we can make a human right to drinking water a reality every day.

But I'm still sitting in the secure office, with hot tea, electricity and more, so I'm still in absolute luxury.

The interest in you is huge.

Is that because people are interested in your foundation work or because you embody the opposite of the cliché of a professional soccer player?

Both are true and one more point.

Being the opposite of a footballer is only interesting if people are interested in that design.

Partly interested in the foundation, but much more in global justice and our role in it, is what many people look to for inspiration and motivation.

Approaching this complex of issues holistically and at the same time being someone that people know from 15 years working in football and ten years in the non-profit sector is the recipe for attention.

At times they corresponded to the cliché of rich professional footballers.

Was there a point where you turned around?

It wasn't a Hollywood moment, it was a development.

It was about asking myself the really important questions and trying to answer them: Who do I want to be?

What do I want to do and how important is that?

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As a wealthy person, you will be asked for help more often.

How are you reacting to that today?

Basically, I'm against jumping from one crisis to the next, because that can never lead to a really positive discussion of the topic and rarely has a long-term effect.

This is one of the reasons why we do not support the fate of individuals, no matter how sad or personal they may be, because fairness and respect also mean making difficult decisions for a cause.

You work with the foundation in Africa – why?

We operate in Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Almost half of the rural population there has no drinking water supply.

The need is enormous.

Since we as a foundation have long-term strategies, this is crucial.

How many projects have been implemented?

So far, 484 projects have been implemented with more than ten million euros - in ten years.

Projects for another almost four million euros are in sales.

That may sound like a lot of money, but with nine employees we are more of a small professional foundation compared to huge foundations and organizations.

I know that we have a very good team and that good work is necessary to ensure quality in the end.

Do you give private money to your foundation?

How do you guarantee donors that the money goes straight to Africa?

Every year I donate up to 450,000 euros for our administrative costs.

All of this is presented transparently on our website.

They don't just want to deliver money and goods.

Why did you decide to build a well?

Help is a term that doesn't fit at all.

The commitment to human rights is the foundation for taking them seriously.

The most important thing that every human being needs is access to drinking water.

That's why we're committed to it.

We cause tremendous damage to the world through our ways of life.

You also say that we Europeans are dynamically strong, but not morally.

Who in Germany has seriously dealt with colonial history and its ideological consequences, which still influence our language and ideas today?

Unfortunately, we haven't done that yet, but as a country we go through the world with a raised finger and forget to look in the mirror.

It seems that we and others are always perfect, yet we often fail to see our own shortcomings.

It is therefore understandable that we still have colonial concepts such as "promoting civilization" anchored in our thinking.

Why do we learn so little about the living conditions in Africa?

Because our relationship with the African continent is still shaped by the colonial era.

We see nature, animals and wars.

But we cannot imagine that it is different, that there are people who are equal to us, but we live at their expense.

But these people don't even hate us for it.

At first they just demand our respect.

That requires insight, courage, and honest discourse from us.

But it is still in its infancy.

What do we need to change?

We should start working through our colonial history in school, not for self-hatred, but to learn from it and take responsibility.

We should learn more stories from Africa that show us what the continent is above all, a continent with people, stories, cultures.

Then international understanding can take place.

What does football mean to the football hero of yore today?

Football is still a great love - not necessarily the professional business itself, but football as a cultural asset, as a form of socialization and further development of people and society.

Football has so many great qualities that are universally understood, almost all over the world.

That is and remains special – also for my life.

How important are clubs?

Clubs create the reality in which we can participate directly.

In terms of structure, they are the best democratic organizations and are therefore the absolute role model and asset of our society.

The clubs that use sport not as an ultimate, but as a means for the purpose of the community, have my utmost respect.

"Give it all"

by Neven Subotic.

Verlag Kiepenheuer and Witsch, 22 euros.

Reading Göttinger Literaturherbst on November 3rd, Funsporthalle Göttingen.

Tickets and program can be found here.

More information on the Neven Subotic Foundation website.

The book cover of the new book "Everything" by Neven Subotic.

© Kiwi/NH

To person

Neven Subotic was born in 1988 in Banja Luka in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As a professional soccer player, he played for Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Köln and Union Berlin, among others.

He has been working for his foundation since 2012, which implements sanitation and well construction projects in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

Presenter and film producer Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt will also be presenting his new book at the Göttinger Literaturherbst.

In an interview, he explains why women are more complex.