The twelve clubs in the women’s soccer Bundesliga generated record sales of around 15 million euros last season.
In the previous season it was 13.2 million. At the presentation of the “season report” on Thursday, the German Football Association (DFB) named “the significant increase in sponsorship income” as the “key driver for the new record”.
“It is a strong sign from the league that despite the pandemic we have managed to achieve a new record income,” said the responsible DFB managing director Manuel Hartmann: “I am optimistic that this development can be further expanded”.
This is also necessary in order to operate profitably in the future. After all, the clubs’ record spending of almost 30 million euros is twice as high as the turnover. In the pre-season, the expenses amounted to 25 million euros.
According to the DFB, the main reason for the increase in costs are the men’s professional clubs, which showed “a high willingness to invest” among women: “Also due to the increased international competition in the Champions League competition”.
Salary increase of 113 percent
On average, a squad cost clubs 1.3 million euros. That’s an increase in player salaries of 113 percent over the past ten years. This results in an average minus of 1.2 million euros per club – that is also a record. “The minus is caused by the investments,” emphasized Hartmann: “It’s not a sign of economic difficulties in the league.”
Siegfried Dietrich sees it similarly. The committee chairman of the women’s federal leagues sees the increased costs as a sign of professionalization. “In the foreseeable future we can earn money with women’s football,” said Dietrich. “It’s a matter of one or two years – then we’ll be talking about full profit in the league.”
In order to generate higher income, Dietrich is relying on competition between “pay TV and free TV” for future media contracts. According to Dietrich, expanding the league would be counterproductive at the moment. Nevertheless, he assumes that “Dortmund, Schalke, Hamburg and Stuttgart” will deal with women’s football.