Block instead of spill: The German Football Association wants to invest on a previously unimagined scale in the desired professionalization of the women’s Bundesliga.
“We will set up our own company together with the clubs. The DFB is making around 100 million euros available for this. The clubs will also participate substantially in this process,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, referring to the planned resolutions at the Bundestag on November 7th, to the Frankfurter Rundschau.
According to Neuendorf, the 100 million euros are “the DFB’s largest investment” since the construction of its new headquarters including campus (180 million euros): “We have a great interest together in keeping our best players in the country and in presenting a strong league here.”
At the beginning of September, the association had already set the course for the realignment of the women’s Bundesliga. The DFB is based on the men’s league association structure. The “key points of the growth plan” decided at the time envisage a joint venture between the DFB and a league association. The joint organization (“Women’s Bundesliga Society”) is intended to focus on “the operation and marketing” of the league. However, the league association still has to be founded by the clubs.
For the first time, 14 clubs are playing in the women’s Bundesliga this season instead of the previous 12. The DFB has also applied to host the 2029 European Championship in order to give women’s football a further boost. In the future, the current Secretary General Heike Ullrich will be more concerned with the issue in the Presidium.