Back four: Discussions about the social meaning of football

Panel discussions will cover how football can shape its social environment in the long term.

Alongside music, football is an important part of everyday culture in our time. However, it has both good and bad sides. The positives? High stadium attendances, entertaining matches and atmospheric stadiums. And the negatives? Corruption, tax avoidance at some clubs, violent and racist minorities among fans. Neglect of human rights by World Cup hosts and astronomical player salaries.

The exhibition Hauptstadtfussball (Capital City Football) at Berlin’s Museum Ephraim-Palais looks at this exciting topic, using examples from Hertha Berlin and its local rivals in the city. In order to delve deeper, Viererkette (Back four) is a series of panel discussions which bring together four personalities to talk about different topics. The main question: How can football shape its social environment in the long term?

All events take place in the Nikolaikirche Museum and will be accompanied by a short film, Brot & Spiele (Bread & Games). The events will be moderated by journalist Ronny Blashke who is, among other things, the author of the book Gesellschaftsspielchen – Fussball zwischen Hilfsbereitschaft und Heuchelei (Social games - Football between readiness to help and hypocrisy)