By Ulrike John and Patrick Reichardt, dpa l Monday, April 3, 2023
BERLIN – The Germany women’s national team have extended the contract with coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg until 2025, the German football federation (DFB) said on Monday.
“We had good talks, and I’m referring specifically to the technical aspects. But what is also very important to me is the human aspect. I have sensed that this has become a very close relationship in the last few weeks,” DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said.
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has been in charge of the team since 2018. She saw her side crash out of the 2019 World Cup in France in the quarter-finals, failing to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
At the Euro 2022, she led the team to the final, which they lost 2-1 to hosts England after extra-time.
“The feeling is, of course, that we still have something planned. We are looking forward to the future and to everything that is coming,” Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said.
On July 24, Germany start their campaign at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand against Morocco. They are in Group H, which also includes Colombia and South Korea.
Speaking about the debate about equal pay for men and women, Neuendorf said that it is a process and didn’t want to explicitly endorse FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s goal to have women receiving the same bonus at their 2027 World Cup as the men will get at the 2026 tournament.
“I think it’s always problematic when you say: ‘We want everything and we want it now,'” Neuendorf explained.
At the moment, they’re in talks about the bonuses for this year’s World Cup. For the players, the most important thing is that they have the same general conditions as the men, Neuendorf said.
According to football ruling body FIFA, $110 million will be distributed in bonuses at the 2023 World Cup, which is an increase from the $30 million paid in 2019, but still considerably less than the $440 million paid to the teams at the men’s tournament in Qatar last year.
