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Max Mueller Bhavan | India

Football
More Than a Game

For millions around the world, football isn’t just entertainment—it’s personal. The team you follow, the club you believe in, the player you defend, and the anthem that stays with you. And once the World Cup rolls around and your country makes it through, suddenly everyone’s a football expert! Here, we celebrate those connections and ask what really shapes the sport we love.

European Football Championship © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Society & Identity

  • Diversity in football

    “Voy, voy, voy, voy, voy, voy”

    Girls' teams, clubs for the blind, queer fan clubs: Football shows its integrative potential above all away from the big stage. The movie “Elf Mal Morgen” takes a look at eleven different football stories in Germany.

    The female players of Türkiyemspor Berlin in the dressing room Foto (Detail): © Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin Foto (Detail): © Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin

Football Through German Eyes

Few sports mean as much to Germany as football. But what is really behind that passion? Here we tell the stories that make the game so special in this country.

Football and Music

Football is Our Life

There’s music in football: as we approach the men’s Euro 2024 in Germany, we take a look at football songs, some dodgy and some successful, and the stories behind them.

A completely normal sight for decades: the German national football team in the recording studio - here with Udo Jürgens in December 1989. © picture-alliance/ dpa/dpaweb | Marcus Thelen © picture-alliance/ dpa/dpaweb | Marcus Thelen

  • East-West German Football History

    Separated by Politics, United by Football

    Ronald Reng has written a football book that is about much more than football. 1974 – Eine deutsche Begegnung is a captivating portrait of divided Germany in the 1970s.

    1974: International match between the FRG and the GDR as part of the Football World Cup © picture-alliance / dpa | Werner Baum © picture-alliance / dpa | Werner Baum

  • Football in the Ruhr

    In the Land of 1,000 Derbies

    Matches will also be played at two stadiums in the Ruhr region during the 2024 European Football Championship. It’s not really surprising – this area in the far west of Germany is considered the nucleus of German football, especially away from the bright lights of the modern arenas.

    The Ruhr region is characterised by heavy industry. This is also unmistakable in football - here at a demonstration by miners in Bochum's Ruhrstadion in 1997. © picture alliance / augenklick/firo Sportphoto | Jürgen Fromme © picture alliance / augenklick/firo Sportphoto | Jürgen Fromme

A Sport in Motion

Something is shifting in football. Not on the pitch but behind it. We take a look at what is changing and why it matters.

A SELECTION OF FOOTBALL DOCUMENTARIES

2021, documentary, 14 min, OV with German subtitles

Die Geschichte des deutschen Fußballs

This episode of MrWissen2go Geschichte explores the history of German football from its origins to the present day. Watch on funk until 05.08.2026.

Die Geschichte des deutschen Fußballs © funk © funk

  • 2023, documentary, 30 min, OV with German subtitles

    Tore für die Umwelt

    In the Bundesliga, the call for more sustainability is ever growing louder. This concerns issues like waste management, mobility, and energy. Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 13.01.2028.

    Tore für die Umwelt © ZDF/Julian Prahl © ZDF/Julian Prahl

  • 2022, documentary, 19 min, OV with German subtitles

    FIFA, Rapper und Trikots - Woher der Hype um Fussball?

    This episode of HYPECULTURE is focused on football, rappers, and jerseys: featuring rappers playing football, footballers rapping, and the tracksuit as the street's tuxedo. Watch on funk until 28.11.2027.

    FIFA, Rapper und Trikots - Woher der Hype um Fussball? © funk © funk

  • 2021, documentary, 44 min, OV with German subtitles

    Das dunkle Erbe – Nazis im deutschen Fußball

    This episode of Terra X-History explores a dark chapter in the post-war history of German football: the legacy of the Nazi era. Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 27.11.2026.

    Das dunkle Erbe – Nazis im deutschen Fußball © ZDF/Wolfgang Morell © ZDF/Wolfgang Morell

  • 2022, documentary, 15 min, OV with German subtitles

    Fußball im Nationalsozialismus

    This episode of MrWissentogo Geschichte sheds light on how football was used as a propaganda tool and to suppress specific groups under the Nazi regime.
    Watch on funk until 11.08.2027.

    Fußball im Nationalsozialismus © funk © funk

  • 2021, documentary, 44 min, OV with German subtitles

    Fußballprofi - Traum und Wirklichkeit

    This documentary follows young football talents in Germany on their way to becoming professional football players, highlighting the challenges, opportunities, risks and realities of the football industry. Watch on ARD Mediathek until 01.01.2099.

    Fußballprofi - Traum und Wirklichkeit © NDR © NDR

  • 2023, documentary, 9 min, OV

    Ein Tag im Leben eines Schiedsrichters!

    Einfach Fußball follows referee Felix Zwayer on a match day, providing insights into his daily life on and off the pitch. Watch on funk until 05.10.2033.

    Ein Tag im Leben eines Schiedsrichters! © funk © funk