myThere were times when a head of the sports department of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, upon hearing the name of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), shouted into the phone with such excitement and anger that a very smart smartphone turned down the volume. For the benefit of interested and fun listeners. The era of strong and dissonant tones, of mutual accusations, of shining above all in the discipline of incompetence, ended with the withdrawal of Alfons Hormann as president of DOSB.
His successor, Thomas Weikert, understood the crisis of confidence in his own house, the serious conflict with the government and the open exchange of blows with it. International Olympic Committee to end. Above all thanks to their conciliation, which goes far beyond reconciliation.
Overdue reform of elite sport
Nowadays they are not so nice at the DOSB anymore. It's not about shouting. But the DOSB's rejection of two bills from Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser's office on the key issue of sports development and the long-awaited reform of elite sports not only documents a major rift, but also a huge discontent.
The central association and the Federal Ministry of the Interior are far apart on key issues regarding the future of German organized sport. They accuse each other of being to blame. Some people, whether in the government district or at the Frankfurt DOSB headquarters, probably feel like shouting.
It would be advisable for both parties to remain silent in the face of this fatal defeat in the undoubtedly complex art of sports politics. Above all, the breakup is causing serious damage to the sport, whoever is responsible.
The ignorance phase during the pandemic, when the government largely ignored constructive and easy-to-implement exercise programs for children and the elderly without risk of infection, seemed to be over. Especially since the DOSB leadership was said to have a direct line to the center of power due to its proximity to the SPD. If it existed, it should have been cut. Berlin now decides on important sporting issues according to its own wishes.
grind teeth
The DOSB member associations will be able to appreciate in the coming days the resistance of the coordinating organization, which is showing its teeth for the first time. Organized sport will show solidarity to the outside world, complain about traffic lights, doubt their reliability, complain about increasing bureaucracy and demand equal coordination. But things internally have been rumbling for a long time.
At this time, raising the question of the possibility of hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics in Germany may at first seem secondary. Secondly, it is convincing: without the unity of sport and politics, without a commitment from the Ministry of the Interior, or better still from the Chancellery, the planned request, the process that has been underway for a long time, will only serve to burn money.