From 27th June until 3rd July Discover Football is bringing together eight teams from across the world for an international women's football tournament in the centre of Berlin. The tournament will be accompanied by a diverse cultural festival.

The event, which will be staged this year in the Willy Kressmann stadium and the Victoria Park in Kreuzberg, Berlin, is taking place for the second time and is part of the official cultural programme of the DFB in the Women's World Cup year. The festival is being organised by Fußball and Begegnung e.V.

Four streetfootballworld network members in the running
A prominent jury comprised of DFB president Theo Zwanziger; Steffi Jones, the former German national player and president of the Women's World Cup; Monika Staab, former president of the 1st FFC Frankfurt and football trainer; Rainer Willfeld, football trainer and foreign expert for DFB; and Irmingard Schewe-Gerigk, board member of the human rights organisation TERRE DES FEMMES, chose seven teams out of 38 applications to take part in the tournament.

Alongside Cercle d'Aide Femme-Enfant (C.A.F.E.) from Togo, and the Star Sports Association from Brazil, five streetfootballworld members were among the successful applicants: Slum Soccer from India, Mifalot from Israel, Espérance from Rwanda, Sport dans la Ville from France and Elena NGO with its New Layout East Women Association football team from Cameroon. The line up is completed by the home team: radioneins-Discover Football.

The social aspect wins
It was not so much the women's football skills, but rather the social background of their sporting enterprise which was the deciding factor in selecting the teams. Discover Football is more than just football; it is a social platform for women who encounter various kinds of opposition within society in their everyday life - not just on the football pitch.


Translated by Hannah McMurray