The World Cup in Qatar is Hansi Flick’s first tournament as national coach of German footballers. Instead of sports, the focus is on the difficult human rights situation in the host country. Flick now reports why the World Cup will not be a festival for fans.
For national coach Hansi Flick, the controversial World Cup in Qatar will not be a football festival for simple fans due to various aspects on site. “I have many acquaintances who would like to fly to Qatar but refuse to do so for a variety of reasons. Because they can’t afford the massive prices, because the situation is unacceptable for homosexuals, because there are human rights violations, because minorities are marginalized,” the 57-year-old Flick told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” about three months before the start of the tournament.
“Basically, I think it’s a shame that this tournament won’t be a World Cup for fans,” said the DFB head coach. “Football should be there for everyone. That’s why I say: It’s not a World Cup for the normal fan.”
A political statement by the national team in Qatar is “a challenge for everyone involved,” said Flick. “We’ve already had a lot of talks to keep the team as informed as possible. We’ll get together again in September and think about what we can and want to do, possibly together with other nations and teams.”
For Flick it will be the first World Cup finals as the responsible national coach. When winning the title in Brazil in 2014, he acted as assistant to Joachim Löw, whom he replaced after the European Championships last year. Flick wants to exchange ideas with the experienced Löw in advance. “I’ve been involved in planning four tournaments as an assistant coach and I know what’s important. Nevertheless, it can only be an advantage if I sit down with Jogi again and exchange his impressions and experiences. About what happens at a tournament like this can and how he experienced this from the perspective of the national coach.”
As a result of the opening game being brought forward at short notice this week, the World Cup will no longer begin on November 21st, but on November 20th and will end with the final on December 18th. The German national team meets Japan (November 23), Spain (November 27) and Costa Rica (December 1) in the group stage.
