1. Marcus Urban has spoken publicly about the difficulties that gay footballers experience, and he is a spokesperson and campaigner on diversity issues in sport and the workplace.
12 Facts About Marcus Urban
1. 2.
Marcus Urban was born and grew up in the city of Weimar, which was then in the German Democratic Republic.
3.
Marcus Urban trained with East German world sports champions and olympic medal winners.
4.
Marcus Urban played for the East Germany national youth football teams from 1986 to 1989.
5.
Marcus Urban played against future players of the Germany national team such as Bernd Schneider, Thomas Linke, Steffen Freund and Frank Rost.
6.
Marcus Urban was about to become a professional football player, but in 1991, he decided to quit due to the pressure of having to hide his homosexuality from the football world.
7.
Marcus Urban undertook his civilian service year in 1997, working for an organisation that provided special therapies for disabled children based on theatre, music and art.
8.
Marcus Urban came out to family and friends in 1994, but it was not until 13 years later, in 2007, that he publicly came out in an interview with the newspaper Welt am Sonntag in which he spoke about the difficulties of gay football players.
9.
Marcus Urban makes appearances on TV, radio and in print media, discussing his experiences as a gay man in sport, and his work in this area.
10.
Marcus Urban advises the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, and the Sports Committee of the German Federal Parliament, as well as businesses and non-profit institutions.
11.
Marcus Urban is on the management team of the Verein fur Vielfalt in Sport und Gesellschaft.
12.
Marcus Urban plays football in the over 40s team for Hertha BSC.