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Football without spectators: "The fixed point has been lost for the active fan scene"

2021-02-02T09:10:46.536Z


The stadium exclusion of Bundesliga fans began almost a year ago. Did that change the scene? And: how many fans will come back? Answers from the head of the "Fan Projects Coordination Office", Michael Gabriel.


Icon: enlarge

Borussia Dortmund's empty stadium

Photo: Bernd Thissen / dpa

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Gabriel, for many football fans in March last year, not only did their most important leisure activity collapse, but also their social environment.

How was that expressed specifically?

Gabriel:

For the active fan scene, i.e. those who stand behind the goal on every match day, the fixed point has been lost.

The stage on which you present yourself.

The social support.

The game day is the day when you get together and prepare during the week, it has a huge meaning.

Many fans share an abundance of common experiences, they lack important social contacts, they lack self-assurance.

This is a massive turning point.

SPIEGEL:

Can you say that for some people a large part of the meaning of life has been lost?

Gabriel:

Of course it is not the case that people would not have their lives under control without football.

But being a fan already takes up a large part of life, in terms of time and mind.

So you can say it that way.

SPIEGEL:

How do you rate the way the fan scenes deal with the missing stadium aisles?

To person

Icon: enlarge Photo: schmidtbild.de

Michael Gabriel

is a qualified sports scientist and has been involved in professional fan work since the early 1990s, first as a social worker in the Frankfurt fan project, and since 1996 at the fan project coordination office at the dsj (KOS).

After the 2006 World Cup, he became its head.

KOS advises and supports the 68 socio-educational fan projects that work in Germany on the basis of the national concept of sport and safety.

Gabriel:

The fan scenes were very responsible across the board.

When the ghost games came, there were fears that fans would gather in front of the stadiums.

We never believed in that because there is a great sense of social responsibility in these groups.

Instead, many local aid projects were initiated by fans, such as shopping for the elderly.

SPIEGEL:

How is the new normal, a TV sport that takes place without fans in the stadiums, received?

Gabriel:

My impression is that it happens casually.

The fans watch a game of their team at home, but the group experience is missing.

This football is not very relevant for the fan scene.

There were games with a reduced number of spectators, and there, too, the run on tickets was not very big.

In addition to the health concerns, this speaks for the fact that this type of football is not what fans want.

The culture that thrives on tightness and shared emotions in the crowd simply didn't exist there.

SPIEGEL:

There was criticism of how it was carried out, for example in connection with the corona tests that players use.

Are there voices like that in the fan scene?

Gabriel:

It's split: Many in the younger, active fan scene saw it critically that football tried to keep its business going.

Others, more from the more traditional fan structures, were able to understand it.

Otherwise some clubs might have gone bankrupt - of course that is not in the interests of the fans at all.

In the case of the corona tests, the DFL did a pretty good job of communicating, so there is a relatively high level of understanding.

SPIEGEL:

What happens when walking into the stadium is possible again: will the fans come back?

Gabriel:

You just can't really say it yet.

For one or the other, the distance to football has grown further, and interests may have shifted.

They could have been lost to football.

But most of them will probably return to the stadium.

It will also be interesting to observe what effects the results of the DFL task force will have in this context, especially on the committed, critical fan scene.

It is well known that football has spoken a lot about humility and signaled readiness for change.

That is why they look very carefully there to see whether this was meant seriously.

SPIEGEL:

Which alternative projects are football fans pursuing in the Corona period?

Gabriel:

Many stay in contact via social media, but nothing can compensate for the stadium experience.

But the fan engagement has not been idle, two examples: At the moment there is a power struggle in the club at VfB Stuttgart - you can tell that the organized fans are getting involved.

It's about your own club.

And a member of the active fan scene died in Frankfurt.

A memorial site was set up near the stadium, which has been an important emotional point of contact for many.

It was then that you noticed that the scenes were still there.

SPIEGEL:

How has your socio-educational fan work changed?

Gabriel:

The work of the fan projects is based on trusting relationships with the fans.

The colleagues go into the world of the fans, they are guests and contacts there.

They accompany young people over a long period of time.

Many opportunities for encounter have now disappeared.

It was and is an insane challenge to keep up the contacts.

Especially for the young people who already have other social problems.

SPIEGEL:

And how do you deal with it?

Gabriel:

Our colleagues in the 68 fan projects were very creative: visits to the window, walks in the park, meeting places at a distance in the open air.

But also through digital offers, soccer tournaments, readings, discussions.

But it is also clear: to see a person in their entirety, to hug him - that cannot be replaced by anything.

Icon: The mirror

Source: spiegel

All sports articles on 2021-02-02

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