Study visit: German women's football

Hosted by the German FA (DFB), the study visit was also attended by delegates from Spain and the Netherlands.

The visit focused on:

• International trends in women’s football
• ‘The Golden Thread’ – the player pathway from grassroots to elite female football
• The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011

Overview

Germany is one of the most successful female football nations. There is a pride in the female game which was evident from the outset of this visit.

International trends in women’s football

Tina Theune (DFB and ex-German women’s national head coach) presented on the changing trends in women’s football providing an insight into the four teams considered most effective at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011: Japan, USA, Sweden and France.

Trends and attributes including defensive set-up, build-up play and the creation of goal-scoring opportunities were analysed and a list of positional requirements outlined.

The following conclusions were made about the top teams’ match philosophies:

• Flexible defensive set-up: the ability to play at variable heights (high-line, deep-line).
• Flexible build-up play: the ability to change the tempo of play, to be able to open up organised opposition through the use of width and depth, to be able to play quickly under pressure and with inventiveness in the attacking third.
• Outplaying the opposition through practised moves and patterns of play.
• Various interpretations of the 4-4-2 formation.

The requirements of the future player were:

• Almost complete in terms of skill, individuality, flexibility, intelligence, speed of thought and finishing.
• A player that can perform with exceptional skill at great pace, who can receive the ball in the direction of play with the ability to play quick short passes whilst under great pressure.
• Players need to be physically and mentally tough and show aggressiveness and attacking spirit.
• Players who are willing to ‘go the extra mile’.

This concept of understanding the changing face of elite women’s football is part of the process of identifying the changes necessary to ‘keep up’ and ensure future success at international level.

The Golden Thread/Red Guideline

The Golden Thread, or Red Guideline, as it is called in Germany, is the player pathway from grassroots to elite senior football. Clear from the outset is that men’s and women’s football work together throughout the process.

The German FA (DFB) has five regional FA’s and 21 sub regional FA’s. Each of the sub-regional FA’s has a sports school (U15-U20) with 10 of these elite schools catering specifically for girls and women’s football. There are 366 DFB training centres across Germany and they offer training for the most talented boys and girls between the ages of 11-15.

Talented girls play within boys teams and are encouraged to do so for as long as possible. Girls within the Elite School System also train with boys up to U20 level.

FLVW (Regional FA’s)

Katrin Peter, head of the sporting sector and co-ordinator of the Westfaelen FA elite girls U15-U19, provided an outline of the structure and aims of the FLVW:

Westfalen is the second biggest of the 21 regional Football Associations with 950,000 members. It has 1,110 girls’ teams, a number that is steadily increasing. The Westfalen headquarters is based at the Sportcentrum Kamen-Kaiserau which is also one of the 10 elite schools for female football. A team of 18 coaches work within the region which comprises 33 districts and six talent promotion centres.

The Westfalen youth philosophy is to create opportunities for every player to receive the best possible training and education (subject to personal talent and mindset), however, this is not at the detriment of playing for enjoyment.

The region has a number of levels which work to implement the philosophy and to select and develop the best players.

The links between the clubs, district, talent promotion centre and regional FA FLVW are strong with all strands working closely together. This allows the most talented players to train up to four times a week without pressure. This may be with their club, talent promotion centre or with the FA.

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011

In the four years leading up to the Women’s World Cup in Germany, the short-term aims were to increase the awareness of the tournament. In the long-term the aim was to improve the image of women’s football, making a contribution to the sustainable development of the game.

The promotion was a three-stage process from local to national to global.

Strong PR tools were used linking with the men’s national side and the acquisition of the German President as Patron. The use of websites - Facebook in particular - newsletters and organised events such as press conferences were utilised. A promotional game between Germany and Brazil in April 2009 drew 44,825 spectators.

A welcome tour proved to be an effective engagement tool. All 15 participating countries were visited between December 2010 and June 2011 with workshops and presentations each attracting 150 guests. A number of campaigns were also organised: environmental, social, arts and culture, schools and clubs.

All games were shown live on public TV and received some impressive ratings, the highest being the Semi-Final between Germany and Japan which received 17.01 million viewers.

Following the success of the World Cup in Germany the DFB created a girls and women’s football department with Ste Jones (ex-Germany International) as director. There has been a growth of 10,000 registered female participants in the 2010-2011 season. 1,800 new female teams have been created and the attendance of female Bundesliga games has increased. The tournament also made a financial profit of 7.6 million Euros which will go back into developing the female game in Germany.

U13 Westfalen FA elite girls training camp

During the visit one of five yearly training camps was observed.

The first two sessions focused on offensive and defensive 1v1 practices. The standout attributes included: attitude, technical quality, the ability to use both feet, a highly competitive nature and the ability and willingness to use body strength to protect the ball.

Following this the U13 girls (born 1999-2000) played an U13 boys side (born 2000). A series of small-sided games were played which proved to be a fascinating observation opportunity. It was clear that the players benefited from the exercise as they were tested technically and physically. These types of games are played at a number of levels in Germany with emphasis on the selection of an appropriate boys side to maximise the benefits of the event.

Promotion of girls and women’s football

There are ten specific elite schools for girls and women’s football across Germany including Sportcentrum Kamen-Kaiserau. These schools are essential to the development of female players.

With an increase in the number of elite women’s and girls players and increased demands on training and playing away from school, the sports schools offer the best environment for training and playing.

The schools cater for players aged U15-U20 all of whom are given the opportunity to board at Sportcentrum Kamen-Kaiserau between Monday to Friday. The sports school has very close links with local schools where the girls go to receive their education. All parties work together to ensure the success of the programme emphasising the development of the players within their care, from both an education and a playing perspective. On a Friday the players return home for the final training sessions and games at the weekend with their respective home clubs.

Selected players are those who display the potential to play for the national side. Players must have the required grades and performance levels at school, the required fitness levels and a recommendation by their regional FA (FLVW).

The players are offered outstanding facilities and services from education and medical care to training and career management. In addition the players receive numerous training sessions throughout the week including sessions with the elite boys.

There are currently 120-150 elite players in sports schools and 75 of these players are with national sides. The DFB are hoping to increase the number of female elite schools from 10 to 15 with the aim of having over 100 national team players and eventually all national team players within the set up.

Summary

The main difference between elite girls’ and women’s football in Germany and England is opportunity. The German elite girls and women train more, have better access to excellent facilities and are able to train, play and compete with and against boys until later in their development.

All levels and aspects of the game work together: from grassroots to national level, from schools and education to local FAs. This allows an optimal environment to be created in which talented players can be identified and developed.

The main difference is the football culture of the country and the acceptance and pride in the female game. Tina Thuene (DFB) put it simply “there are differences between the male and female game but we do not underline them.”

Article image courtesy of Dave Shopland/BPI/REX.

This article was first published in The Boot Room magazine April 2012.