Some of the biggest names in German football, such as Thomas Müller and Mario Gomez, have lent their support to the #wirbleibenzuhause social media campaign.
The hashtag was initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Health to encourage people to stay at home in an effort to limit transmission of the coronavirus. In the videos, participants explain why they are staying at home and how they are spending their time.
The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, which runs the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, is helping promote the government campaign, with stars from the German leagues filming their own video messages. These have been posted on the Bundesliga and clubs social media channels.
What James #Lawrence said: #StayAtHome! #fcsp | #stpaulisolidarisch | #wirbleibenzuhause@Bundesliga_EN | @BMG_Bund pic.twitter.com/oY64Frs7zU
— FC St. Pauli English (@fcstpauli_EN) March 26, 2020
FC Bayern München striker and World Cup winner Müller participated in the #wirbleibenzuhause campaign and emphasised the importance of staying at home, not only to protect his own health and wellbeing, but also the health of his friends, family and the nation as a whole.
Müller said that this unique crisis gives fans the opportunity to finally do those things at home they have been meaning to do for some time: “We can do something useful. There is definitely work left at home, or other things that you always wanted to do.”
Schalke 04 defender Jonjoe Kenny explained that he is using the time at home to learn German, while VfB Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez has been taking advantage of being at home to spend extra quality time with his son.