dpa
Berlin
Germany’s national team appears to face a rocky road to win back its fans after the recent World Cup group stage exit, with almost half of Germans losing interest in it.
And according to fan representatives it is not only the modest results but also over-commercialism that has made many fans turn their backs on the team and created a new breed of event fans - who only support the team when it is successful.
It is a sharp contrast compared to the euphoria around the national team and the 2006 home World Cup, and over the fourth World Cup title won 2014 in Barzil.
Criticism of World Cup hosts Qatar also added to the dwindling interest, and German TV ratings for public broadcasters ZDF from the Qatar tournament were down 30-40% compared to the 2018 tournament.
A YouGov survey commissioned by dpa and published Thursday said that 46% of those polled stated they have lost interest in the team in the wake of poor results at the latest tournaments - and 26% of them even saying they have lost interest in a major way.
Another 34% said they hadn’t been interested in the team even before the World Cup group stage eliminations 2018 and 2022, and a last-16 exit at Euro 2020.
Only 18% said interest in the national team hasn’t changed.
Coach Hansi Flick had admitted last week “we have an obligation to deliver” as the team and the ruling body DFB aim to win back the fans for the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany and beyond.
“We have to generate enthusiasm again,” he said. “We want to show attractive football. As a team, we want to show the fans: We get it, we want to give everything ... That is our task and then we hope that the fans will support us. We are also convinced of that.” But fan representatives warn it will take more than winning on the pitch to reconcile the fans with the team and the DFB.
“The DFB should urgently talk to the few loyal and at the same time critical fans it still has left,” Our Curve fan group spokeswoman Helen Breit told dpa.
“Involve them in the processes and support their efforts to finally strengthen the self-organisation of fans in the context of national football again instead of continuing to force them into membership systems and exclusively breeding event fans.” “Since the 2006 World Cup at the latest, the DFB has done everything to make national team football an event.
“And fans of an event - in contrast to club football and identification with the club - stay away if the event no longer meets the standards. [When] In other words, the sporting success fails to materialise,” said Breit.
