Abstract in Englisch:

The dissertation “Women on the ball! A socio-scientific study of the motives of the protagonists in the legalisation of women's football in DFB 1970” by Nadine Junker mainly deals with the problem of legalisation of women’s football in the German Football Association (DFB). On the one hand, the paper concentrates on the historical compilation of women’s football in Germany after 1930, until it was finally legalized by the DFB in its jurisdiction in 1970. On the other hand it analyses those motives and their dynamic, which made the DFB, at that time dominated mainly by “elderly gentlemen” legalise women’s football. At the same time the then strengthening, so-called “Second Women’ Liberation Movement” is taken into account, as well as the general change in the system of sport. Thus the initial question is, what kind of influence the perception of women and sport, drastically changing in public, had on the shaping of opinion and consensus of the heads of the association and for the legalization of “Ladies’ football”, until then prohibited by law. Moreover, it is to be analyzed if the change of mentality in society concerning the perception of women as well as opening structures in sport had a significant importance for the decision of women to play football “illegally” and actively. Doing so it was also considered in how far a change in social relations includes a change in body ideals and traditional gender roles and moreover, why football is principally or naturally understood as a male bastion. An empirically established inventory of both the illegal and legalized league games and the attitudes of the persons involved at that time are meant to give an insight into the fascination and dynamic of the process during its crucial years from 1955 to 1970, having made women’s and girls’ football to one of the strongest female sports in the Federal Republic of Germany, counting more than one million members.