The Alternative for Germany (AfD) exploits sports for electoral purposes in Saxony and Thuringia.
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Currently, the AfD is dominating the ideological battle in preparation for the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia by employing sports. This isn't clandestine; rather, it's in accordance with party doctrine. Young Alternative and combative sports are also engaged, posing threats to fairness and diversity.
In a heated statement in mid-January, Christian Streich, then coach of Bundesliga team SC Freiburg, condemned right-wing extremism. A report of a meeting between neo-Nazis and AfD politicians discussing mass deportations from Germany spurred the reaction: "It's five minutes to twelve. Those who don't act now haven't learned anything in school or history."
However, in Eastern Germany clubs, the five-minute mark has long passed before the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia this Sunday. The AfD, tagged as "conclusively right-wing extremist" in both states by the constitutional protection, and other extreme right-wing groups have long been using sports to establish ideological control. They utilize sports clubs, proponents of German civil society, and togetherness to disseminate anti-democratic values incompatible with organized sports in Germany, which primarily focuses on charity. The increasingly radical Young Alternative plays a significant role in this process. These developments could significantly impact the elections.
A 2019 secret AfD strategy paper, detailing how it plans to obtain a foothold in civil society by joining appropriate "clubs and associations" for over 72 pages, was made public. This encompasses trade unions, neighborhood associations, and sports clubs.
"Fairness, diversity, and tolerance are in danger"
Robert Claus, an expert on right-wing extremism, opined that the engagement of extreme right-wing actors in sports clubs serves as a "targeted instrument to establish and maintain political hegemony, which is a party line." The AfD has positioned itself as a caring party in Eastern Germany, organizing regular "Stammtische" and citizens' meetings. It also participates in sports clubs to demonstrate presence in Eastern German communities.
Christoph Lammert of Mobile Consulting in Thuringia for Democracy – Against Right-wing Extremism (Mobit) identified the strategic efforts of the AfD in Thuringia to establish its political ideas in sports clubs. The more it succeeds in propagating and expressing right-wing ideologies in such contexts, the lesser trust sports and sports clubs instill in people who do not conform to the extreme right-wing worldview, Lammert told ntv.de.
The strategy is more successful in rural areas due to the central role sports clubs, along with local associations and small-town festivals, play in local social life. AfD politicians are active as functionaries in various sports clubs, as well as supervisory boards, and serve as sponsors. Lee Claus cautions of a potential danger: "Often, they prevent these clubs from participating in 'Integration through Sports' programs of the state sports associations." Lammert from Mobit also warned: "Equal participation, fairness, diversity, and tolerance are at risk. In the worst-case scenario, it may lead to the establishment of a right-wing hegemony within a club, resulting in politically different-minded individuals being excluded, targeted, or attacked."
Sports Associations in Germany proclaim political neutrality. However, even LSB Thuringia, aware of the AfD's strategy papers, has expressed concerns. The main business manager, Thomas Zirkel, expressed concerns over the AfD's potential electoral success, which could lead to the vetoing of important projects. This has raised concerns over state-funded programs for strengthening democracy or integration. Zirkel explained that cooperating with parties and institutions that share their statutory values is necessary to guard the values of sports such as human rights respect, fair play, respect, and inclusion.
The Saxony Sports Association told ntv.de that it "opposes extremist, racist, violence-glorifying, xenophobic, and sexually discriminatory views and activities, as well as all manifestations of sexual violence." Violating these principles can result in membership rejection or expulsion from the sport association. Nonetheless, things have evolved negatively in Saxony, with the discussion on sports values now conducted more cautiously due to "the influence of the AfD" or a broader societal discourse transformation.
Racist, far-right, and anti-constitutional ideologies are seeping into sports. This is not a clandestine process—a misleading label, as AfD members don't have to act secretly. "Frequently, right-wing extremists who engage in sports are part of a local or regional political milieu, such as a football club or martial arts studio," said Claus. "There, their political views are not a secret but are tolerated under the guise of being 'apolitical.' It's not a covert process; rather, right-wing extremists are established in the region due to their long-term residence and perhaps local business or active children in the club."
Politically, sports hold significant importance due to sports clubs serving as pre-political spaces. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has tardily acknowledged this, lagging behind in sports politics until recently. Even as late as March 2018, "taz" declared, "Sports politics are secondary for the AfD." However, the party swiftly amended this, releasing their first sports-related stance statements in September 2018, in the form of 14 theses. Despite sounding formulaic, the theses focus on the esteemed status of sports and advocacy for recreational activities.
Interestingly, what sets the AfD's stance apart is the absence of keywords like integration, inclusion, diversity, gender diversity, and migration. "The AfD espouses a social-Darwinist perspective on sports, supporting a sports culture where only high-performing individuals without a migrant background participate," criticized Claus. "In the AfD's view, sports are an exclusive and excluding commodity." Curiously, online visuals accompanying the theses display only AI-generated, prime-aged individuals.
Written by Joern Koenig, an AfD member in the Sports Committee of the Bundestag, the theses aim to influence sports clubs across Germany starting in 2023, with some selective letter sendings. In a June 2024 letter to the German football national team, Koenig asserted, "Sports must be stripped down to the basics [...]. Inclusivity, diversity, anti-discrimination, anti-racism, sustainability, climate neutrality, and anything colorful have no place in a competition."
Three sentences later, Koenig clarified the AfD's exploitation of sports for unconstitutional and racist propaganda by drawing parallels between a knife attack by an Afghan teenager near Frankfurt's fan mile prior to the EM and the notion that "politically-imported multiculturalism is chaos."
AfD criticizes the German national team's lack of whiteness
"AfD politicians have distanced themselves from football during the European Championship in the summer and openly disapproved of the German national team, as they don't align with the party's racist worldview and the team's migrant-friendly nature," explained Claus. Instead, the Thuringia's leading candidate, Bjorn Hoecke, shared photos on his Instagram of himself participating in the biathlon and hiking, showcasing a clear preference for sports predominantly dominated by the white community.
An example of this phenomenon is Stefan Marzischewski-Drewes, an AfD Lower Saxony state parliament member since 2022. In a 2023 issue of the Lower Saxony Football Association's magazine, he advocated for the football national team to return to "German, old values," hoping that the sport would retrieve a sense of national pride and black-red-gold enthusiasm. Such successes are celebrated in handball and ice hockey, Marzischewski-Drewes pointed out. Claus identified a "political code" in Marzischewski-Drewes's words: "The German football national team is dismissed for no longer displaying national pride due to the multitude of players of color. Marzischewski-Drewes instead highlights handball and ice hockey players since these sports remain relatively unaffected by migration." The recently crowned German basketball world champions, who achieved their title with a significant number of players of color, went unmentioned by Marzischewski-Drewes at the time.
In the realm of active sports, the AfD, particularly with the Young Alternative (JA), its youth organization, which has been under surveillance as "conclusively right-wing extremist" by the constitutional protection office since May, is primarily driven by vote gathering and ideological dominance. The JA has long showcased itself at extreme obstacle runs like Tough Mudder with a war metaphor, as if training for a war. Such imagery calls to mind symbolism from the Hitler Youth and aligns with the JA and AfD, who consistently interpret sports as a combat scenario and view them as preparation for and execution of conflicts.
The Young Alternative and combat sports
Claus expresses concern over the increasing number of state associations of the JA promoting combat sports in recent years. This ties in well with the portrayal of toxic notions of masculinity and violent nationalist self-defense rhetoric in the extreme right, observes Mobit's Lammert. "In addition, combat sports are explicitly designed for confrontations with political opponents," Lammert added.
Martial arts offerings, as per Claus, maintain a broad audience attracting not only the JA but also neo-Nazis from the militant sector. The JA's political spectrum extends "especially in East Germany to the far extremes of the neo-Nazi realm," yet the AfD's political influence has made it less socially unacceptable. The intersection of extremist movements and sports was recently highlighted by the case of Alina J., a former JA activist in Thuringia who tutored children and youth in combat sports at "Laqua-Sports" amidst her involvement in the right-wing extremist community in Thuringia. The main manager of LSB Thuringia explained to ntv.de, "The question of a fundamental positioning towards the 'Young Alternative' does not arise for us as long as it is not banned."
Based on Claus's statements, there were martial arts clubs that openly supported the AfD in the past. The Imperium Fight Team, the martial arts studio associated with the Nazi thugs from Leipzig's football club Lokomotive, was among them before the 2017 federal election. As the right-wing extremism researcher explained, it's not surprising to find AfD members in various social classes since the party had polled at 32% in Saxony and 30% in Thuringia, according to surveys.
The AfD has also used its influence in sports to boost its poll numbers in Saxony and Thuringia, potentially emerging as the primary winner in the state elections. "Taking a stance is becoming more challenging in Saxony and sports," explained LSB Saxony.
Regardless of the election outcome, it's crucial for clubs to promote an "active, experiential democratic culture" locally to prevent extreme right-wing actors from gaining control and creating "intimidating environments for the affected." According to Lammert from Mobit, this requires more than just declaring support for sports' values; it necessitates acknowledging and actively addressing right-wing and discriminatory incidents. Lammert frequently witnesses initiatives that stand against the extreme right becoming targets of backlash. This isn't limited to sports; it's sixteenth past twelve.
The AfD's strategy of engaging in sports clubs in Saxony has raised concerns, as Robert Claus, an expert on right-wing extremism, stated that this is a "targeted instrument to establish and maintain political hegemony." This is in line with the AfD's preparations for the 'Elections to the Landtag of Saxony'.
Furthermore, the use of sports clubs by the AfD and other extreme right-wing groups to disseminate anti-democratic values could significantly impact the elections, as warned by Christoph Lammert of Mobile Consulting in Thuringia for Democracy – Against Right-wing Extremism (Mobit).
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