As tournament director of Euro 2024, I am meeting many people from the huge German football base. They are children in jerseys with whom I take selfies, youth coaches who teach rules to their players, presidents of small clubs who have been volunteers for decades. They all love the lightness of football, know its educational power, appreciate its importance to our community.
When the conversation turns to Qatar, however, their tone becomes serious. Many consider missing a World Cup voluntarily for the first time in their lives. In the past, a World Cup was a folk festival, for children a football initiation for life. Today, some amateur clubs think about leaving the beer tables and the screen in the storeroom.
