Don´t be afraid of the Boogeyman- Racism, Sports & Integration

Dark skinned football players belong to Football (soccer) in Germany and all over the world. Nevertheless, racist and xenophobic incidents occur again and again in and around stadiums. Many clubs are honestly and successfully trying to integrate black and foreign players and in Germany there is even the nationwide support programme "Integration by sports" of the German Olympic Sports Federation.

This documentary film is about integration, sports and racism in everyday life.

The focus is on Assan Jallow. He fled The Gambia in 2011 as a minor and came to Germany more or less accidentically as a stowaway on a cargo ship. Since then he has integrated himself into the Karlsruhe area on his own, but also with a lot of help from the football club ATSV Kleinsteinbach. However, his stay in Germany is in danger, as he was rejected as an asylum seeker. Only because a broadly supported hardship application was approved afterwards, he is still here. But he can only stay if he completes a three-year apprenticeship as a precision mechanic with successful completion of the examination and an employment contract.

These conditions put him under enormous pressure. What helps him are his many friends in the football club and in the village. What pulls him down are the formal and cultural hurdles in the all-decisive final examination and the racism he experiences again and again in everyday life.

In addition to Assan Jallow, former national player Patrick Owomoyela, DFB integration commissioner Cacau and Borussia Dortmund Fan Commissioner Daniel Lörcher will also talk about "Integration, sports and racism".