“Globasket United” ＃2 Germany
According to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), basketball has grown to a sport played by 450 million people worldwide. The NBA in the United States reigns supreme, and its popularity is evident in the fact that it is broadcast on TV in more than 200 countries and in over 40 languages. However, even with the global popularity of basketball, the environment and culture of basketball in each country varies. In this “GlobasketUnited” series, Mie Kajikawa, Founder and Representative Director of Next Big Pivot and FIBA Foundation Advisory Committee Member, visits Embassies of basketball countries in Tokyo to discover cultural background and popularity of baskteball of each country, as well as to listen to their opinions of the power of baskteball for social change, with the following four perspectives.
1st Quarter : Popularity of Basketball
2nd Quarter : Sports Policy
3rd Quarter : Power of Basketball for Social Good
4th Quarter : Views on Basketball in Japan
Exploring Germany’s Rise in Global Basketball: A Conversation with the German Embassy in Tokyo
The second installment of our “Globasket United” series shines the spotlight on Germany, the nation that faced Japan in the same group during both the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Olympics. Known not only as a global basketball contender but also as a sports powerhouse across various disciplines, Germany’s men’s basketball team is currently ranked 3rd in the world as of November 2024.
“Basketball’s popularity in Germany is certainly growing. While it hasn’t yet reached the same level as soccer, its rise is undeniable,” remarked Dr. Soehnke Grothusen, First Secretary and Cultural Attaché at the German Embassy in Tokyo. The conversation delves into how Germany has cultivated its basketball prowess and the profound impact this development is having on the next generation of players and fans in the country.
Joining Dr. Grothusen in this insightful discussion is Mr. Sachio Howoldt, Public Relations and Cultural Specialist. Together, they offer a comprehensive view of Germany’s basketball journey and its future aspirations.
Big starts influenced next generations
1st Quarter: Popularity of Basketball
ーーーGenerally Germany is known as a country of soccer but you won the FIBA World Championship in 2023 and you have so popular basketball players in your country now. How popular basketball is in Germany? And how basketball was developed to this stage now in your country?
Dr. Grothusen : I would say that especially the famous German players in the NBA have given a great push for basketball as a sport in the 90s. It was then Detlef Schrempf who played in the NBA, afterwards it was Dirk Nowitzki, of course, who was kind of an icon not just in terms of being a great player but also in terms of being a great sportsman.
He’s like an icon because he’s someone who really stands for the values of sport as such. And of course the most recent basketball star is Dennis Schroder who also led the national team to win the World Cup past year. So I think these three players were the historically important players of Germany and who have been, since my young age, like a role model for boys.
And right now the popularity of basketball is growing. Of course it’s not on the same level as soccer. I have some numbers for example, the members of soccer associations in Germany, from the national to the local level are 7 million. So that’s almost one tenth of Germany’s population. According to the German Basketball Federation, the number of their members increased from 215,609 in 2022 to 242,344 in 2023 ranking on 16th of the top DOSB (the German Olympic Sports Confederation) associations with football on 1st place, which had 7,364,775 members in 2023.
But the number is rising, and especially as you said, since Germany won the FIBA World Cup in Manila last year, that has given a push to this.
ーーーCongratulations, again. It was a big win.
Mr. Howoldt ：The German Basketball Federation concentrates on developing the youth and they made a big effort on that. And you can see this because the U18 won the European championship. So they are working there. And basketball is of course sports but compared to soccer it’s more thing of lifestyle as well in Germany.
German Basketball Federation told us that they are very active on social media as well especially on Instagram. I think they concentrated on developing the youth and they are successful on social media to reach out to a lot of people. They might have the most Instagram followers in Germany when it comes to sports topics.
Also more and more kids want to play basketball. Some newspapers wrote that they don’t have enough capacity to welcome everybody who wants to play basketball because it’s like a boom. Now kids in Germany want to be like the big famous German players in the NBA.
ーーーDoes that mean the basketball is more anchored by younger generations? Or by other generations? Older generations love soccer more?
Dr. Grothusen : I think it became more relevant in the 90s, from my memory because of American pop culture. Hip hop and basketball are closely connected to young people. I think that might be a reason why the number of the members of clubs is not that high because it’s a street sport. Many people just play without being part of a team, just as a part of a lifestyle.
ーーーDo you have many basketball courts in Germany? In Japan, everyone always claims that we don’t have any goals and we need more hoops in public spaces. How about the situation in Germany?
Dr. Grothusen: I would say it’s quite common in Germany that you can find a basketball courts maybe in one kilometer radius.
Howoldt: That’s maybe the big difference between Germany and Japan, because, in Germany, we have the sports club culture related to the community. Almost every city or village in Germany has a sports club and then you pay a fee and then you can practice like tennis, basketball, and gymnastics.
2nd Quarter : Sports Policy
ーーーDoes your country have any governmental institution for focusing on developing sports specifically not only basketball but sports at large? Do you have any political implementations?
Dr. Grothusen : The central government agency is the Ministry of Interior. It is called BMI.
They are also responsible for sports in Germany and they have all the government subsidies which they hand out not only to different associations and Olympic Sports Associations (DOSG), but also to clubs and associations at federal and local levels. That’s the central government agency.
Of course, that’s our ministry and we have many different sports projects. And from my experience, what is really great about sport as a tool of international understanding is that sport is maybe one of two fields of culture where you can really integrate people from very different parts of society.
If you look at the German national soccer team, for example. It’s maybe the most important like icon we can see the diversity of the German society. Players from immigration background, from very poor parts of the society, play next to each other, like without an immigration background.
ーーー That reminds me of the story of Dennis Shroder. When he became the flag bearer of the Paris 2024 by fan votes, he revealed that he had been attacked because he was black1, and his achievement as a basketball player made him a hero of your nation.
As for a sports project, we had a surfing project in Israel and there they use this surfing experience to integrate Israelis with Arab background, with Jewish background, from poor, problematic families coming together and to be a team and to experience this kind of social environment, the values of sports and that, if you’re a member of a team, their backgrounds don’t really matter, and it is not important whether you’re rich or poor, whether you have problems at school and so on.
This is something that only sports can do – sports and maybe music. Sports definitely, and music are the only fields of culture where you can really reach something.
Mr. Howoldt: It may sound interesting that we don’t have actually something just for sports like one in Japan.
ーーー We have the Sports Agency under the Ministry that governs education.
Mr. Howoldt : Like Dr. Grothusen said we don’t have one on the ministerial level but, like in Japan, we have the German Olympic Sports Committee that is organizing sports. But it is at the Olympic level, and we have associations of each sport like let’s say soccer, tennis, basketball, and gymnastics.
Dr. Grothusen : Of course the Ministry of Interior is financing to some part the Olympic Committee which is our agency for that purpose. And of course they are also subsidizing.
There are many associations under Ministry of Interrior. We don’t have prefectures but we have “Bundesland” at these levels. So subsidies are flowing also and they trickle down to the most local level. And that plays a major role in society which my colleague already mentioned.
Every town, every village has its own sports association, and this is really something that is very useful to integrate kids, giving them some structure in school days. They give some kinds of social cohesion and this happens outside school. And that is also something that is one of the strong parts of the German sport system.
ーーーIt’s very impressive because you have established so integrated local communities that they can manage by their own.
Dr. Grothusen : It is a very normal part for every family that if they have kids, most kids have maybe music lessons, but they go to one sports club, and that is after school. That is very basic stuff for German.
Howoldt: It’s not only about local, but it’s installed in our society at large to get financial support from the government.
We have 16 Bundesland in Germany, and it goes to the state to the town or the city. It’s easier for the local family to put their kids into a sports club, because it doesn’t cost them much as it is funded. It’s very spreading into individuals in small towns and they can have enough fund to be covered.
Continued in Part 2
