When Benjamin Näßler was playing football in a village club in Donaueschingen at the age of 17, sayings like “gay passport” or “gay ball” were completely normal colloquialisms on the field.

Again and again he has to listen to such insults that fall in everyday training.

For him personally, it was an "incredibly difficult situation" at the time, also because he is a passionate football player.

"It was the worst when we toasted with beer after training and then the saying came: 'Stop it, otherwise there will be gay children!'

I knew then that I would never come out there," says Näßler, now 32 years old, who works in the field of an insurance company.

Kevin Hanschke

volunteer.

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He now lives in Frankfurt and is one of the most important activists for LGBTQ rights in football. He still sees the situation of queer people in the sport as difficult. “There are hardly any role models. Nothing happened for a long time,” he says. But Näßler didn't let his experiences in the amateur club get him down: he founded several initiatives and put together a petition that now has almost 40,000 signatures.

He also organizes queer soccer tournaments and has worked on campaigns for gay visibility in sports.

In his free time, he plays football for the FVV, the Frankfurt volleyball club, one of the largest gay and lesbian sports clubs in Europe.

This will be honored for the first time in December 2019.

Hundreds of onlookers cheer him as he is named "Mr.

Gay Germany 2020”.

In the nationwide election, which is particularly about commitment to the queer community, he prevailed in front of a jury against more than two hundred competitors because of his commitment to combating homophobia in football.

Debate on World Cup in Qatar

His latest initiative deals with the soccer World Cup in the Emirate of Qatar. He and the other volunteers demand that the World Cup only be held in countries where human rights apply. "That's why I can only partially understand that a World Cup was awarded there. It has been known for years that homosexuality legislation in the state is particularly harsh,” he says. That's why he initiated the "Love knows no break" campaign.

The idea for this came about in a conversation with Bernd Reisig, the former managing director and president of FSV Frankfurt.

Both have long wanted to launch an initiative that also takes a look at homophobia at international football tournaments.

Linked to this is a collection of signatures that is expected to include more than 100,000 signatures by the start of the soccer World Cup in December and calls on politicians and associations to initiate a debate on LGBTQ and human rights in Qatar.

“We especially want to get the German Football Association to convey our concerns and to work for a diverse sports world.” The title of the campaign came about after “a long period of reflection” and goes back to a statement by Joseph Blatter, the former head of football - World governing body FIFA.

He caused outrage in 2010 when he recommended gay football fans not to have sex when participating in Qatar.

The Swiss later apologized for this statement.

Näßler, who is married himself, was "even more motivated to position himself" with the statement.

So he founded the campaign "to set an example for the community worldwide".

This is still urgently needed, he says.

Because the situation in Qatar is difficult.

"Dialogue is a key tool"

Same-sex love between men and women is punishable by up to five years in prison in the emirate.

In addition, according to the government, homosexuality should not be shown during the World Cup.

The chief organizer of the 2022 World Cup, Hassan Al Thawadi, has urged visitors to be considerate of the culture of the Islamic country.

"It is not part of our culture to show affection in public, regardless of sexual orientation," he said in 2019. Näßler sees this as a "fatal signal" to queer people.