DOHA/Qatar: German football league (DFL) chief executive Donata Hopfen believes the World Cup in Qatar will have a lasting effect on football due to the many political debates that came with it.
“The World Cup will certainly change things, has changed things. It will draw attention to many topics that are important,” she told dpa on Thursday.
Hopfen, however, emphasized: “Nevertheless, it’s the biggest football tournament in the world, and at the end of the day, we always have to remember that it’s about sport – and sport must be at the centre of it.”
Hopfen made similar comments about the controversy surrounding the One Love captain’s armband banned by the football governing body FIFA.
“I think the discussion was right and at the same time we are here to play football. I am very happy that we are now focusing on the sport,” she said.
A group of European nations, including Germany, were planning to use the armband as a sign for equality and diversity during the tournament in Qatar, a country which has been widely criticized for its human rights conditions, the death of migrant workers and its handling of the LGBTQ+ community.
But teams backed down after FIFA threatened financial and sporting sanctions.
Hopfen is in Doha for one day and will watch Germany’s last group stage match against Costa Rica on Thursday evening.
“It was a difficult start, but then we saw a great performance from the team against Spain and that’s when things turned around a bit. So now I’m hopeful that it will continue in that direction tonight and we’ll move on,” she said.
Germany need to beat Costa Rica and a combination of other results to advance to the last 16.
