#30 Game Changer - what women's football can learn from business with Ariane Hingst

This was the podcast that turned me into a football fan ️


Ariane Hingst is arguably one of Germany’s most successful soccer
players. In an international career spanning 15 years, she won
four European Championships, two World Championships, three
Olympic medals and the World Cup. But this being women’s
football, “no one recognised us, there wasn’t money to be
earned,” she says. 


Like most female professional footballers, Ariane had to work two
other jobs - first as a bank clerk and then as a physiotherapist
- to make ends meet. Today, most female players in the second and
third leagues still have to work other jobs outside of football,
often full-time — which would unthinkable in the male
leagues. 


Ariane is working to change that for the next generation. In
2022, she joined a group of female entrepreneurs as co-founder of
FC Viktoria Berlin, with the aim of transforming the sport. "Of
course it’s about soccer, but it’s more than soccer,” she says.
"We want to establish a brand, we want to have visibility for the
players, we want to have diversity, and obviously female
empowerment!” 


2022 was a big year for women’s football in Germany, with a
record 18 million viewers tuning in to watch the European
Championship final between England and Germany. But there are
still hurdles, and I saw so many parallels between the challenges
that female footballers are facing and the issues that we’re
dealing with in the business world: 


the need for new work models! Especially in the third league
where the new talent is, and where players still have to juggle
training with paid jobs; 


the fight for equal pay - women shouldn’t be earning less for the
same job; 


understanding that parenthood doesn’t change us for the worse,
but for the better. Parents have “resilience and a never-give-up
mentality,” says Ariane. And the fact that your body changes? “It
could also be a positive thing!” 


the importance of role models - why we have to tell the stories
of people who are blazing the trail, even if they’re not famous
or top of their game. Their experiences pave the way for
others. 


Speaker: Ariane Hingst, Co-Founder @FC Viktoria Berlin,
Co-Trainer DFB


Interviewer: Dr. Ricarda Engelmeier - Founder @MyCollective


Music: sponsored by @Michaelkadelbach


Photo: Ariane Hingst


Graphic & Production: MyCollective


#Gamechanger #getinspired #podcast #inspiration #MyCollective
#diversity #changemakers #womensfootball #football #soccer
#equalpay #equalopportunities #leadership #equality
#getinspiredpodcast #ImpulseSessions