analysis
Union Berlin is finally the first Bundesliga club to have the courage to install a woman as head coach. But the fundamental problem lies deeper, as the DFB figures show.
It has almost been forgotten what the German Football Association (DFB) wants to achieve with the “FF27” initiative: to significantly promote the participation of women in football. On and off the pitch. For amateurs and professionals. The driving force and partly the source of ideas was the ex-national player Doris Fitschen, who died in spring 2025.
But of course the project continues and some of the figures are currently up to date as Union Berlin now has Marie-Louise Eta, the first female head coach in the upper house of football. The 34-year-old is one of only 30 German coaches who, according to the DFB, have a pro license. And only with this license does one have the right to work in a managerial position in German professional football.
Sabrina Wittmann is recognized at FC Ingolstadt
Even in the most recent Pro License course, the highest level of training for coaches under the DFB umbrella, there were only two women among the 17 people who completed the course: Sabrina Wittmann from FC Ingolstadt and Eva-Maria Virsinger from TSG Hoffenheim. The 34-year-old Wittmann has been coaching the men’s team at the third division club for almost two years, and the 31-year-old Virsinger took over the women’s Bundesliga team in Kraichgau in January.
The lack of licensed female coaches has been a concern in German football for a long time and is one of the key points of the “FF27” strategy. But while the number of players (218,512 in 2025/26 compared to 147,861 in 2021/22) and referees (2,749 compared to 1,545) increased significantly, the number of female coaches progressed only slowly. The DFB currently has 4,099 trainers (C to Pro license), compared to 3,299 five years ago. An increase of almost 24.2 percent. The goal is to increase the number of women in all areas by 25 percent by 2027.
Many National players are interested
Because an increase of 124 percent was recorded in the pre-licensing stages, it can be assumed that “that the number of female trainers will continue to increase in the coming years”said the DFB in response to Sportschau’s request. It will still take a while, but the way has been prepared. Especially since many reflected personalities and recognized national players are interested in the job and are acquiring their first licenses. Will they then have a career like Eta, who has been passionate about football since she was young?
One is national player Sjoeke Nüsken, who revealed at a media round in Herzogenaurach: “In fact, I’m starting my B license now. It’s definitely nice to see that these opportunities are open to us.” The appointment of Eta is also a milestone for ex-national player Alexandra Popp. “I think it’s a really, really cool step,” said the 34-year-old, who played with Eta in her youth. You can see from her successes so far “that she can also show it as a trainer.“
Six trainers work in the Women’s Bundesliga
This could slowly change the disproportion. A few years ago, not even the women’s Bundesliga was suitable as an example of a diverse cast in the coaching bench. After all, there are currently six women – in addition to Virsinger, Friederike Kromp (Werder Bremen), Britta Carlsson (1. FC Köln), Ailien Poese (Union Berlin), Liese Brancao (Hamburger SV) and Heleen Jaques (SGS Essen) – employed by the 14 clubs. The longest-serving coach is of course a man: Niko Arnautis (Eintracht Frankfurt).
| License level | Number |
|---|---|
Pro license | 30 |
A+ | 6 |
A | 80 |
B+ | 95 |
b | 797 |
C | 3024 |
Goalkeeper performance course | 59 |
Eta had already said about the men’s Bundesliga two years ago, “That a head coaching position will be possible at some point, but it’s difficult to pinpoint a specific time”. It is no coincidence that the club from Berlin-Köpenick is becoming a pioneer. President Dirk Zingler enthusiastically supports the Union footballers who have been promoted to the Bundesliga, and all home games are played in the Alte Fösterei as a matter of course. On average, more than 7,000 spectators come. It is also planned that Eta will take over the women of the “Iron” in the new season.
Before that, she will make history as the first female coach in the men’s Bundesliga, just like Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb, who became the first woman to coach a game in the men’s Bundesliga in 2017. Or Katja Kraus, who worked as the first female board member at Hamburger SV in 2003. The managing director of the advertising agency Jung von Matt/sports founded the “Football Can Do More” network a few years ago to help more women achieve a breakthrough. The former national goalkeeper from FSV Frankfurt naturally welcomes the decision for Eta: “She will definitely be a role model. We need that role model.”
Hopeful at Union Berlin: Marie-Louise Eta
Katja Kraus advocates quotas
In principle, however, there is still too little going on at the management level, which is why Kraus recently used her platform to vehemently call for binding quotas for at least 30 percent women to be set for at least 30 percent women on supervisory boards, presidiums, boards of directors and management of Bundesliga clubs, because otherwise the encrusted structures cannot be broken down. “The management bodies continue to be homogeneously male and German”criticized Kraus.
However, this means that development opportunities are missed and potential is proven not to be fully exploited. “A quota is not an arbitrary requirement, but rather a proven means of achieving goals when there is no intrinsic drive. This has long been established in politics and business. It is astonishing that a competitive environment such as the football industry in particular finds it so difficult to set measurable goals.”said the 55-year-old.
FIFA is calling for female coaches for the 2027 Women’s World Cup
The world football association FIFA requires participants in the next Women’s World Cup in Brazil in 2027 to employ a woman as head coach or assistant. Germany is lucky: national coach Christian Wück and his assistants Maren Meinert and Saskia Bartusiak form a diverse team for the DFB women who have just extended their contract until 2029.
The trio with different characters complement each other well, Meinert and Bartusiak see themselves as trainers who prefer to work in the background, Wück is the public mouthpiece and often emphasizes the value of his assistant trainers. Many other national associations are not yet that far along. Especially in South America and Africa, but also in Europe, the coaching staffs, even for the women’s national teams, are predominantly male.
At the last World Cup in 2023 in Australia and New Zealand there was only one woman among the quarter-finalists: the successful Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman, who works for England.