DFB host Future Leaders in Football workshop in Albania
The fourth edition of the Future Leaders in Football (FLF) workshop took place earlier this month. The inaugural edition of this seminar was offered virtually in 2021, before stops in Jordan and Doha in the following years. This year’s workshop was held in Durrës, Albania. As the largest sporting federation in the world, the DFB accepts its socio-political responsibilities on both a national and international level, and has been implementing various projects to support development both in and outside of football around the globe for several decades. The Future Leaders in Football workshop counts amongst those social projects that are aimed at helping to support gender equality, female empowerment and international cooperation.
A total of 22 young women from various regional football associations in the Balkans, as well as other sporting organisations, accepted an invitation from the DFB, BMZ and GIZ to spend the week of 1st to 7th October taking part in the Future Leaders in Football workshop. The contents of the workshop, as well as the discussions that resulted from it, will have wide-ranging impacts. The attendees will return to their respective organisations having gained new leadership skills. The individual strengths and strategies that participants have been taught will help them overcome various challenges and play a guiding role in their personal and professional development into responsible leaders.
For the first time, the DFB was able to link this international leadership format to the goals set out in the association’s FF27 strategy, with the involvement of a female employee from the Schleswig-Holstein football association.
Promote future role models and leaders
In addition to hard and soft leadership skills, the five-day program also provided information on topics such as diversity, culture, inclusion and sustainability. Under the motto of “Developing skills and taking action to tackle challenges in sport and society,” overarching aims such as tackling various challenges in society were presented and discussed, including how to apply them to the participant's specific working environment. The attendees were taught how to promote social change within their various organisations. The key aims of the program are the acquisition of methodological, cultural and social skills as a leader, in addition to gaining methodological knowledge on diversity, culture and sustainability in the overall context of sports leadership.
Lively exchange of ideas in informative workshops and practical seminars
Dr. Jacqueline Müller has been responsible for moderating leadership-relevant topics since the inaugural workshop in 2021. Müller is an expert on leadership and is a lecturer at London’s Loughborough University, where she conducts research into the areas of sports management, sports psychology, leadership and gender equality, among others topics. As part of a two-person panel together with Nadica Jovanovik, an advocate for sport as a tool for development and the ability to convey concepts such as teamwork, fair play, respect, diversity and conflict resolution in tangible and practical exercises on the pitch, the participants were able to enter into a lively and informative exchange.
One of several highlights from the workshop was without a doubt the panel with Mila Carovska, a former North Macedonian minister of labour and social policy, as well as the former minister of education and science, alongside Sanela Skrijelj, a member of parliament in North Macedonia. Through their strong and authentic manner of speaking, the two were able to motivate participants to stand up for their rights and to strengthen the network of women in sport, in order to make a difference in society and for the next generation.
Happy participants
The Future Leaders in Foootball workshop was once again a big success, with every participant heading home full of confidence with a smile on her face.
Marika Prošek, president of ŽNK Radomlje, said the following after an exciting week: “It was an unbelievable experience to be part of this group of people and to be able to learn with them, continue to develop my skills and to share my fears, goals, weaknesses and strengths. It helped me realise how important it is for all of us to support each other in every possible way in order to become the best version of ourselves."
Selma Memóvic, CEO of Agency for Sportsmanagement, Marketing and Multimedia, added: “The differences between us don't matter when we are dealing with a collective goal. Impossible things can only become possible if we are brave enough to change our surroundings for the better. So, let’s take a step forward since we have the ability to do so. That’s the purpose of the FLF.”
With the conclusion of the fourth edition of the Future Leaders in Football, it once again became clear how important this event is and what an impact it can have. Therefore, the participants, the organisers and the partners deserve special thanks for the smooth running of the event.
Bernd Neuendorf – DFB president: “The leadership program for women in sport has established itself as an innovative project in the DFB’s international cooperation efforts. The sharing of skills and experiences for the positive changing of sport and society is the most important factor. With this year’s edition, it was our goal to promote young women in the sports industry in the Balkan region, together with our partners BMZ, GIZ and Volkswagen. Making this valuable contribution makes us very proud at the DFB.”
Once again, the Albanian edition of FLF was strongly supported by DFB partner Volkswagen, who are sticking up for more equality in football and in society with promotional campaigns such as “Women play football. #NoWomensFootball” and #onefootball.
Dominik Wrasmann – Spokesman for Volkswagen Football Center | Sports Communication: “As a partner of the DFB, Volkswagen supports football in its entirety. Therefore, it’s natural for us to support this year's edition of the program with female participants from the Balkan region. Whether it’s Jordan, Qatar or Albania, whether it’s women or men: There is only one football. We are very happy to have made a contribution towards the enabling of this program.”
The DFB has been working closely with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as part of the “Sport for Development” program and has initiated projects for the promotion of young people through football all over the world together with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Jens Elsner – Representative of the global scheme Sport for Development, German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ): “The Future Leaders in Football (FLF) isn’t just a passion project of German feminist development policy, but, above all, a project for young women in our partner countries, who push inclusive and diverse societies forward with their dedication and passion for sport. The involvement of young women fills us with pride and further motivates us to initiate FLF camps in other countries in the world as part of our close relationship with the DFB and Volkswagen.”
For these reasons, it certainly won’t be the last edition of the Future Leaders for Football workshop. A special edition is set to take place as soon as next year as part of UEFA EURO 2024.
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The fourth edition of the Future Leaders in Football (FLF) workshop took place earlier this month. The inaugural edition of this seminar was offered virtually in 2021, before stops in Jordan and Doha in the following years. This year’s workshop was held in Durrës, Albania. As the largest sporting federation in the world, the DFB accepts its socio-political responsibilities on both a national and international level, and has been implementing various projects to support development both in and outside of football around the globe for several decades. The Future Leaders in Football workshop counts amongst those social projects that are aimed at helping to support gender equality, female empowerment and international cooperation.
A total of 22 young women from various regional football associations in the Balkans, as well as other sporting organisations, accepted an invitation from the DFB, BMZ and GIZ to spend the week of 1st to 7th October taking part in the Future Leaders in Football workshop. The contents of the workshop, as well as the discussions that resulted from it, will have wide-ranging impacts. The attendees will return to their respective organisations having gained new leadership skills. The individual strengths and strategies that participants have been taught will help them overcome various challenges and play a guiding role in their personal and professional development into responsible leaders.
For the first time, the DFB was able to link this international leadership format to the goals set out in the association’s FF27 strategy, with the involvement of a female employee from the Schleswig-Holstein football association.
Promote future role models and leaders
In addition to hard and soft leadership skills, the five-day program also provided information on topics such as diversity, culture, inclusion and sustainability. Under the motto of “Developing skills and taking action to tackle challenges in sport and society,” overarching aims such as tackling various challenges in society were presented and discussed, including how to apply them to the participant's specific working environment. The attendees were taught how to promote social change within their various organisations. The key aims of the program are the acquisition of methodological, cultural and social skills as a leader, in addition to gaining methodological knowledge on diversity, culture and sustainability in the overall context of sports leadership.
Lively exchange of ideas in informative workshops and practical seminars
Dr. Jacqueline Müller has been responsible for moderating leadership-relevant topics since the inaugural workshop in 2021. Müller is an expert on leadership and is a lecturer at London’s Loughborough University, where she conducts research into the areas of sports management, sports psychology, leadership and gender equality, among others topics. As part of a two-person panel together with Nadica Jovanovik, an advocate for sport as a tool for development and the ability to convey concepts such as teamwork, fair play, respect, diversity and conflict resolution in tangible and practical exercises on the pitch, the participants were able to enter into a lively and informative exchange.
One of several highlights from the workshop was without a doubt the panel with Mila Carovska, a former North Macedonian minister of labour and social policy, as well as the former minister of education and science, alongside Sanela Skrijelj, a member of parliament in North Macedonia. Through their strong and authentic manner of speaking, the two were able to motivate participants to stand up for their rights and to strengthen the network of women in sport, in order to make a difference in society and for the next generation.
Happy participants
The Future Leaders in Foootball workshop was once again a big success, with every participant heading home full of confidence with a smile on her face.
Marika Prošek, president of ŽNK Radomlje, said the following after an exciting week: “It was an unbelievable experience to be part of this group of people and to be able to learn with them, continue to develop my skills and to share my fears, goals, weaknesses and strengths. It helped me realise how important it is for all of us to support each other in every possible way in order to become the best version of ourselves."
Selma Memóvic, CEO of Agency for Sportsmanagement, Marketing and Multimedia, added: “The differences between us don't matter when we are dealing with a collective goal. Impossible things can only become possible if we are brave enough to change our surroundings for the better. So, let’s take a step forward since we have the ability to do so. That’s the purpose of the FLF.”
With the conclusion of the fourth edition of the Future Leaders in Football, it once again became clear how important this event is and what an impact it can have. Therefore, the participants, the organisers and the partners deserve special thanks for the smooth running of the event.
Bernd Neuendorf – DFB president: “The leadership program for women in sport has established itself as an innovative project in the DFB’s international cooperation efforts. The sharing of skills and experiences for the positive changing of sport and society is the most important factor. With this year’s edition, it was our goal to promote young women in the sports industry in the Balkan region, together with our partners BMZ, GIZ and Volkswagen. Making this valuable contribution makes us very proud at the DFB.”
Once again, the Albanian edition of FLF was strongly supported by DFB partner Volkswagen, who are sticking up for more equality in football and in society with promotional campaigns such as “Women play football. #NoWomensFootball” and #onefootball.
Dominik Wrasmann – Spokesman for Volkswagen Football Center | Sports Communication: “As a partner of the DFB, Volkswagen supports football in its entirety. Therefore, it’s natural for us to support this year's edition of the program with female participants from the Balkan region. Whether it’s Jordan, Qatar or Albania, whether it’s women or men: There is only one football. We are very happy to have made a contribution towards the enabling of this program.”
The DFB has been working closely with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as part of the “Sport for Development” program and has initiated projects for the promotion of young people through football all over the world together with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Jens Elsner – Representative of the global scheme Sport for Development, German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ): “The Future Leaders in Football (FLF) isn’t just a passion project of German feminist development policy, but, above all, a project for young women in our partner countries, who push inclusive and diverse societies forward with their dedication and passion for sport. The involvement of young women fills us with pride and further motivates us to initiate FLF camps in other countries in the world as part of our close relationship with the DFB and Volkswagen.”
For these reasons, it certainly won’t be the last edition of the Future Leaders for Football workshop. A special edition is set to take place as soon as next year as part of UEFA EURO 2024.
