Actually, the FC Bundestag players should be fully focused on the important game against FC Ente Bagdad. There should be a trend reversal. Finally, the European Parliamentary Championships are approaching in May in Switzerland – as was the case last time, they are trying to recruit Felix Magath as coach. A little more drill also seems to be necessary. Most recently there was a 3-0 defeat against a selection from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, then a 6-2 defeat against FC Motor Neubrandenburg Süd. Against Ente Bagdad – a hobby group from Mainz founded in 1973 with the motto: “You’ll never waddle alone” – they should achieve their first win this year.
But now everything is overshadowed by the question of whether some of the players are still allowed to play; the blue ones should be shown the red card, so to speak. At the general meeting of members this week it was decided – with 29 yes votes, eleven no votes and two abstentions – that membership in the “Alternative for Germany” party was no longer compatible with membership in the FC Bundestag. There has been debate about it since 2017.
Even at the FC Bundestag, the political is now overshadowing the sporting
“Numerous fixtures were canceled by teams because they didn’t want to face AfD MPs on the football field,” says captain Mahmut Özdemir from the SPD. This reflects the mood in society, that of the many people who recently took to the streets. “Our signal is clear that we in the FC Bundestag will not tolerate members who, as members of the AfD, make or approve of making deals with right-wing extremism.”
The political overshadows the sporting, especially at FC Bundestag. For more than 50 years, cooperation across all party lines has been cultivated here. The list of well-known kickers is long. Gerhard Schröder, Joschka Fischer, Franz Müntefering, Wolfgang Schäuble, Rudolf Scharping, Theo Waigel – they have all already competed for the club.
“No other faction is characterized by cohesion, fairness, respect, discipline, fun and team spirit like the FC Bundestag,” is the self-description. During session weeks from March to November, games are played against leisure teams from all over Germany in Berlin’s Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark.
So far things have always been harmonious, argues the AfD
But legally the matter is delicate. The FC Bundestag currently has three members from the AfD: Malte Kaufmann, Wolfgang Wiehle and Jörn König. And they want to continue to be there. In response to SZ’s request, defender König emphasized: “We will challenge this decision legally. The individual membership of the current members is unaffected, as members can only be excluded individually due to serious violations of the statutes.”
The other side now wants to check whether the decision can only apply to future cases. König believes that the activities so far have been harmonious in terms of sport and characterized by great cohesion. “At least we won a title together at the European Parliamentary Championships in 2022.” The decision was brought about primarily by young MPs from the SPD and the Greens. “Unfortunately, the FC Bundestag is now being used for political purposes,” he says. In any case, König wants to appear for the game against Ente Bagdad on April 9th - but he may then be threatened with being left on the substitute bench. The FC Bundestag now wants to discuss in the board how the resolution should be implemented.