Berlin (dpa) – National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has spoken forcefully about the increased presence of women in men’s professional league clubs and the top positions in football associations.

“I advise every club: that women be part of the team,” the 53-year-old said ahead of the Women’s World Cup qualifier against Israel in Essen on Tuesday in Funk Media Group newspapers.

Voss-Tecklenburg said football was “still largely male-oriented”. “But I can only advise every club, every sporting director: Put the women into your teams, you’ll find that they perform better and are more productive.”

inequality of opportunity

The women’s national coach has complained of a lack of equal opportunity – no one approaches well-trained coaches on their “own initiative”. However, in an interview with former Hamburg coach Daniel Theon, she identified a Bundesliga club that would probably dare to put a woman on the bench. “We came to SC Freiburg – without wanting to put pressure on them now. The bottom line was we agreed that it should be normal for every team in the three professional leagues to deal with female coaches,” stressed Voss-Tecklenburg.

In addition, the German women’s league has to catch up in terms of marketing and attractiveness. “We had two big games before the international matches: 1,600 spectators in Frankfurt are strong, 800 spectators in Hoffenheim are fine. The Premier League shows us something with an average of 2,500 to 3,500 spectators,” said the national coach. These numbers are realistic “and we have to target them”.

She sees “fantastic opportunities, especially with teams that are already established in a men’s club. There has to be synergy: how do you win over the fans who are already in women’s football?” Clubs have to create ideas and be more courageous.

German footballers aim for their fourth win in the fourth qualifying match for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in the second leg against Israel (4:05pm/ARD) in Essen.