Strong role-models, strong girls

Germany set a new footballing record in April 2023 and four Scoring Girls* were part of it. They walked out onto the pitch with the professional players of 1. FC Köln’s women’s team in their top-flight fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt – in front of a crowd of 38,365. No other Women’s Bundesliga fixture in Germany had ever attracted so many fans. This unique experience is just one example of what the Scoring Girls* project for girls and young women can achieve. 

Who are the Scoring Girls*? 

Tuğba Tekkal set up Scoring Girls* shortly after her last competitive game in 2016. She made her vision clear right from the start of the project: “My team and I want to share our passion for football with young refugee girls and girls from disadvantaged families, teaching them values like team spirit, a sense of community and the role of women in our society,” she said. However, playing sport together is just one part of the project, as Tekkal’s team also provide help with school work and give careers advice. Involving strong female role-models in the project aims to teach the participants to believe in themselves. 

Who is Tuğba Tekkal? 

Tuğba Tekkal was born in Hannover in 1985, the daughter of Yazidi Kurdish refugees from Turkey, and she experienced for herself the often difficult journey of integration and emancipation. “One of my teachers once said, ‘All you’ll ever be is a cleaning lady.’ I had to hide playing football from my parents. Thanks to the support of some amazing people I managed to follow my own path, though, and I made it to the Bundesliga,” she says. Tuğba played as a midfielder for Hamburger SV and 1. FC Köln. These days she is a coach and social entrepreneur, and she has started her own successful business. She also supports her sister Düzen Tekkal with her human rights organisationHáwar.help. 

How successful is the Scoring Girls* project? 

Tuğba Tekkal’s multi-award winning project has grown in recent years, even expanding across national borders. In Germany it has reached over 150 girls from more than 15 countries in Berlin and Cologne. In 2021, the project was expanded into Iraq. The aim is for girls and young women of any background or religion to become Scoring Girls* and overcome the trauma of war, displacement and living as refugees, and to gain confidence in their own skills. 

© www.deutschland.de