TUĞBA TEKKAL – FOUNDER OF SCORING GIRLS*

Tuğba Tekkal was born in Hanover to a Kurdish-Yazidi family as one of eleven children. From an early age, she experienced racism, classism, and discrimination. It was through soccer that she began to build confidence and find strength. She worked her way up to the Women’s Bundesliga, playing professionally for HSV and 1. FC Köln.

While still active as a player, Tuğba co-founded the human rights organization HÁWAR.help e.V. with her four sisters in response to the 2014 genocide against the Yazidi community. Guided by the belief, “What is my freedom worth if I don’t make it shareable?”, she launched the multi-award-winning SCORING GIRLS* project in 2016 to empower girls and young women through soccer.

For her work, she has received numerous honors, including the Wilhelm Wernicke Award, the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

“Soccer shoes were my gateway to freedom. The opportunities I had to fight so hard for — I now want to pass on to my SCORING GIRLS* in Germany and Iraq. We want to give as many girls as possible hope and perspective — so that they believe in themselves and in their dreams.” – Tuğba Tekkal