Watch World Cup or not? A difficult question for many football fans. Some Hessian pubs and clubs have decided to boycott. It’s supposed to be boring…
A pub owner taps beer in a restaurant.
(© Christoph Soeder/dpa/symbol image)
Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) – – Film evening instead of football broadcast: Several pubs, clubs and cultural institutions in Hesse are organizing an alternative program during the controversial World Cup, which starts this Sunday in Qatar. Among other things, they focus on exhibitions or show old football games, other sports or films.
Around 200 pubs across Germany have currently joined the “#KeinKatarinmeinerKneipe” campaign. Places that are otherwise a playground for fans during live broadcasts of major sporting events are boycotting the World Cup. The underlying initiative “BoycottQatar2022” shows the pubs and fans in an idea box on their website alternatives to “TV watching”. These include our own football tournaments, flea markets with fan articles, so-called “boycott runs” or the showing of football films.
The soccer World Cup in Qatar starts on November 20th, the final will be held on December 18th. For the first time, a final round will be played in winter, which causes displeasure among many. Above all, however, the tournament has been criticized because the emirate has been accused of massive violations of human rights, for example in the construction of the stadiums.
In Kassel, for example, the sports bar “Zum Rauchfang” joined the World Cup boycott. Instead of live football, a darts tournament is planned here in addition to a cozy get-together without football. “With us, the television is definitely off,” said one employee.
This also applies to the “Hot Legs” in Kassel. “Football will not find a place with us,” said owner Sascha Lenz. On Sundays, the bar shows NFL American football games. On other days there is a live or party program.
Regardless of the initiative, other institutions also refrain from public viewing. “So far we have shown all tournaments, whether European or World Cup. But at the World Cup in Qatar there is no screen,” said Florian Haupt, managing director of the Rüsselsheim cultural center “Das Rind”. Even if there is unfortunately no planned alternative program for capacity reasons, there are numerous overlaps in the program with the World Cup. Among other things, jazz concerts, a karaoke party and a cinema film will run parallel to the World Cup games.
The Kassel “Fullestadt fan project” has developed an alternative program throughout the World Cup. Parallel to the World Cup opening game between hosts Qatar and Ecuador, the traveling exhibition “Flight, Migration and Football” begins this Sunday (November 20). This is followed by lectures, a football console tournament or active football games under the motto “Play your own football instead of watching Qatar” until the final. Instead of the World Cup final (December 18), the fan project also shows a game between KSV Hessen Kassel and FSV Frankfurt in 2006. Back then, Kassel secured promotion on the last day of the season with a narrow 1-0 win over leaders Frankfurt to the regional league.
Awakening memories with an old football classic was also the plan of the “Förderverein für Offenbacher Fußballkultur”, which is also boycotting the World Cup. “We actually wanted to show the 1970 cup final when Kickers Offenbach won the DFB Cup. But there are no longer any complete records of this in any archive,” said Sven Malsy, chairman of the association.
As an alternative, the club decided on the police call 110 episode “Abseitsfalle”, which revolves around Kickers Offenbach and lasts 90 minutes, just like a football game. Parallel to the kick-off of the second preliminary round match of the German national team against Spain (November 27), it is therefore “Tatort Offenbach instead of Tatort Qatar”.
This article was originally published on November 19, 2022 at 08:33.
