Professional football promotes diversity, tolerance, empathy, unity and respect

17 March 2025 – As part of the International Weeks against Racism (March 17-30), the DFL, DFL Foundation and the 36 professional clubs of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 are joining forces to send a signal for cohesion and against discrimination. Under the motto “TOGETHER! Stop hate. Be a Team.”, professional football will be highlighting the importance of diversity, tolerance, empathy, unity and respect in football.

The International Weeks against Racism are an initiative of the United Nations. Since 2012, corresponding action days have been held regularly during this period. Last year, the motto was also “TOGETHER! Stop Hate. Be a Team.” In 2023, the motto of the joint professional football campaign was “Stop Racism”. The #BundesligaWIRKT (Bundesliga has an impact) platform provides an overview of the commitment given by the clubs and the DFL.

Foundation against racism coordinates action weeks

The weeks of action surrounding the International Day against Racism on March 21 are coordinated in Germany by the Foundation against Racism (Stiftung gegen Rassismus). The initiative calls on civil society actors to take a stand against racism and discrimination.

German professional football is committed to combating racism and racial discrimination in various ways, as the examples selected below show. In addition, there are numerous individual projects by the 36 professional clubs, some of which will also be highlighted as part of the Matchday of Action.

• Symposium series “Anti-discrimination and diversity”

  Together with the DFB, the DFL organises the annual “Antidiscrimination and Diversity” symposium series, which has been addressing discrimination against various population groups since 2014. The fundamental aim of the DFL and DFB is to address current issues in the areas of diversity and inclusion, raise awareness of these issues and promote diversity in soccer and the fan scenes.

• Project funding through PFiFF

  In 2014, the DFL set up the Pool for the Promotion of Innovative Football and Fan Culture (PFiFF). Since then, numerous projects in the areas of tolerance development, anti-discrimination, inclusion, integration and intercultural encounters have been funded through this pool. PFiFF has been supported by the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences since its inception.

• Kids and youth clubs

  Since 1995, (experiential) educational work with children and young people has been a central component of all kids’ clubs. These clubs not only get children excited about football, but also raise their awareness of social issues and challenges such as dealing with racism. Today, more than 300,000 children take part in around 40 kids and youth clubs organised by the clubs of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. The DFL coordinates the network of those responsible for kids and youth clubs and has developed overarching approaches and quality standards, in close cooperation with a club working group.

• “Lernort Stadion” (Stadium as a place of learning)

  Since 2009, stadiums of Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs have also been used as learning centres. The “Lernort Stadion” programme, which is supported and monitored by the DFL Foundation, offers low-threshold political education for young people. Since its inception, more than 200,000 young people have been reached with this extracurricular program, across 29 learning centres. The programme focuses on the following topics: education and maturity, participation, diversity and sustainability, prevention of extremism and violence, intercultural encounters, and sports education.