DFB
Trans and non-binary people now decide for themselves whether they play with the men or women
VfB Stuttgart even has corner flag covers in rainbow colors
© Sebastian Gollnow / Picture Alliance
People who have the marital status entry “diverse” in their passport can in future decide for themselves whether they want to play for men or women. The German Football Association has now decided that.
The German Football Association lets transgender, intersex and non-binary people decide for themselves whether they play in a women’s or a men’s team. The new regulation will apply to the amateur and youth sectors as well as to futsal from the coming season. The DFB announced this on Thursday.
People with the marital status entry “diverse” or “unspecified” and footballers who have had their gender matched can then choose between the two permissions to play. This also applies to transgender footballers, “who can now change at a self-determined time or initially stay in the team in which they have previously played”.
Queer officer welcomes new regulation
He very much welcomes this decision, said the federal government’s queer commissioner, Sven Lehmann. “The DFB is thus underlining its efforts to ensure the acceptance and participation of LGBTIQ people in football. With the new regulation, football can demonstrate its role model function. Everyone should be able to play football without discrimination,” said the Greens politician to the DPA news agency.
As long as the sporting activity while taking medication does not affect the health of the person concerned, the person could take part in the game, “which is why the new regulation excludes doping relevance,” the DFB said. Representatives of the state and regional associations should support the affected footballers “to keep access low-threshold”.