The first European Female+ Football Fans (F+) network meeting will take place from 22nd to 24th July at #EFFC22 in Frankfurt, Germany.
The F+ collective wants to take this opportunity to exchange ideas at the pan-European level. On the Friday (22nd), there will be two open (all gender) workshops and one closed one, including Sexualised Violence in Football: Awareness and Allyship’ and ‘Football Has No Gender? Experience and Empowerment in Fan Scenes’. On Saturday and Sunday (23rd and 24th), F+ will host a closed network meeting in parallel with the main EFFC programme.
The F+ Collective has met online five times since 2020. They have discussed sexism, sexualised violence, and women in leadership roles and in the media, as well as their own experiences both locally and nationally. Building on the work of the Fan.Tastic Females exhibition, the collective aims to strengthen female+ fan culture across the continent. Now, they want to meet in person and decide how they can continue as an open network.
Ahead of the meeting, FSE staff members and Fan.Tastic Females coordinators Antje Grabenhorst, Greta Rinast, and Nicole Winkelhake said:
“We are curious about the experiences of the respective participants, what connects us, and how we can support one another and make female+ fan culture visible. The subjects of sexism and sexualised violence, as well as counterstrategies, are becoming more apparent in football and important within FSE. It is essential that we talk about best practice examples and make it clear to everyone that we are not dealing with individual cases, but a structural problem. We’re also looking forward to showcasing the Fan.Tastic Females exhibition, speaking to other fans, building alliances, making plans, and, of course, having a lot of fun.”
FSE Executive Director Ronan Evain added:
“If someone experiences an uncomfortable situation, FSE wants to be approachable at the EFFC specifically and at football matches more generally. That’s why we’ve created a safe space for female+ fans in the cube at the front of the main building.”
Register to attend the EFFC and F+ meeting.
F+ means that fans who define themselves as inter, trans, or nonbinary are welcome.
Photograph credit: Ariane Gramelspacher