Football fosters Integration in Vienna
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Andreas Ost, a football coach and teacher in Vienna, Austria, observes that children readily integrate into football teams regardless of their backgrounds.
He notes that participation in sports is voluntary and enjoyable, giving coaches more effective ways to address misbehavior than teachers often have. Roughly 900 children and young people play football in clubs across Vienna, with a substantial number having migration backgrounds.
Johannes Dobretsberger of the Vienna Football Association explains that integration happens through the values of clubs, punctuality, discipline, and belonging, and that football clubs act as a social glue in urban environments. The association actively encourages diversity within teams, discouraging clubs formed along ethnic lines like “Srbija Wien” or “FC Kurd.” Recently, the association has seen an increase in people with migration backgrounds becoming football referees, even including asylum seekers, providing both a needed workforce and a pathway to integration.
Wolfgang Vogel, a youth leader at Nußdorfer AC, reports positive experiences with foreign trainers and emphasizes the importance of children learning to speak German. While opportunities are equal for players who make the team, Vogel acknowledges that parents sometimes accuse clubs of ethnic bias when children are not selected.
