My article will be focused on how racism and anti-immigration rhetoric from far-right politics, particularly Germany’s AfD party, is playing a role in the stands and field of football clubs across the country. The article will begin with speaking on the popularity of the sport within Germany, and then transition into speaking on the role of a club’s political beliefs and reputation, and how this is oftentimes shaped by the fans. I will then speak on the recent influx of reports that the fan scene even at the more liberal clubs is becoming more conservative, and how this has prompted protests condemning AFD and right-wing extremism. Most importantly, I will include interviews from football journalists, and people who work inside the club who have seen these changes occur in real time.
The people I met in Berlin will become characters in my story, including the social worker who I wrote my profile on. Additionally, I hope to talk more with a player who comes from an immigrant background about their experiences with the fans, and how it affects them during their time on and off the field. As well as what they think football clubs can do better to protect their players and make the sport more inclusive, particularly towards immigrants. I have not locked down a particular player yet, but I hope to include at least one player in this article. I haven’t found that IT character as I stated in class, so at the moment I have been trying to figure out another angle of the story that still gets at the heart of sports and migration.
I will be including video evidence of some of the chants fans have utilized in the stadium that take aim at a particular ethnic or religious identity. I additionally hope to speak to ROOTS Against Racism In Sports, a German based organization that focuses on providing guidance towards professional athletes that are negatively impacted by racism in sport. As well as one of the AfD members currently sitting on the German parliament’s committee for Sports and Volunteering who I have previously reached out to, and Ozgur Ozvatan who was a former youth national team player for Germany, works for the Berlin football association, and has done research on sports and migration following his soccer career.
