The DFB Bundestag on Friday (03/11/2022) is primarily about the election of the new president. But in recent months there has also been a fight behind the scenes for the future of the women’s Bundesliga, which feels that it has been poorly marketed and represented under the umbrella of the DFB.
Establishing your own league off the table for now
On Friday, at the request of the Rhineland Football Association, a DFB Vice President with responsibility for the Bundesliga is to be elected. Basically a compromise, after an application from this state association had been submitted to the Bundestag four weeks ago, in which “The foundation of a German women’s football league with independent responsibility” was set up as a threatening backdrop. The application was modified after many discussions behind the scenes – the league stays with the DFB for the time being. you have “threw a stone in the water”, says Theo Zwanziger, who is considered one of the initiators of the application, “So that something is happening at the DFB in terms of professionalizing the women’s Bundesliga.” But the fact is: The DFB was on the verge of losing the league, is now under pressure and has to deliver – as Karin Danner reveals in the Sportschau interview.
Danner has been manager and head of department for women at FC Bayern Munich for 27 years. Matthias Wolf met her on the FC Bayern campus.
sports show: The leadership team of FC Bayern-AG at games in the stands, a Champions League game (against Paris Saint Germain on March 22nd) in the arena for the first time. Considerable investments in the squad. Would you say that FC Bayern now sees women’s football as an investment?
Karen Danner: Women’s football at FC Bayern is much more than an investment. Our department has been an integral part of the association for over 50 years and has continuously developed and professionalized, especially in the past ten years. We enjoy the highest esteem in the club, receive the best possible support and have now arrived at the top of Europe. This development was and is a long process that we will continue to drive forward. You can see where the development in women’s football in Europe is going – and continuously upwards. Other nations show us this clearly. What will be decisive will be what happens in Germany in the next few years – also at association level.
What do you think is not going well at the moment?
Karen Danner: Unfortunately, the development of women’s football in Germany over the past ten years has not only been positive. On the contrary. Things went too slowly. Other countries have made much bigger leaps. Many of our structures have to change and become more professional – in the short term as well as in the long term.
That means the DFB is now under pressure. Theo Zwanziger’s request, garnished with the words that he wanted to throw a stone into the water, looked more like a threat: If the DFB doesn’t do anything now, then we’ll be gone in the Bundesliga.
Karen Danner: In the past year in particular, the clubs have often heard from the DFB side: “The clubs have to do something.” We at FC Bayern have already got a lot of things rolling over the past few years. For their part, the clubs have now requested information from the DFB about the possibilities in terms of marketing. The topic of independence will probably remain an issue.
Key word: Own women’s DFL. How specific was that? I was told that FC Bayern and other Bundesliga clubs were very serious when the then DFL boss Christian Seifert showed great interest in women’s football a little over a year ago.
Karen Danner: A core requirement of the clubs was: All games must finally be prepared for TV. We need to get more visibility. And I think if we hadn’t built up the pressure from the league back then, not enough would have happened. This was implemented based on our appeal from the league. That’s when you noticed that there could be movement.
In what way?
Karen Danner: There is still a lot of untapped potential, especially in marketing. Much more can be done in the entire advertising industry, with sponsors and partners, especially when it comes to marketing by the DFB with its new GmbH.
Asked again: How serious was that with the women’s DFL?
Karen Danner: There have been talks at all levels. The clubs now have to invest more and more money in order to be internationally competitive. And the question of where possible sources of income can arise is legitimate in this context. Keyword television money: The next few years will be decisive here. We clubs are sporty on an international top level. This shows the good performance of German clubs in the Champions League. In terms of sport, we are in a very strong league. But economically, other leagues are way ahead of us.
Example England. TV contracts over 18 million euros per season, plus sponsorship contracts in the tens of millions.
Karen Danner: In England you can watch all games live and mostly free, in great quality, super edited, which is not the case with us. The first step has been taken with the broadcast of all games on Magenta Sport. In addition, there is a game on Eurosport every match day, and selected games are also broadcast on public television. But overall, when it comes to visibility, other countries are showing us how to do it.
In England there are also professional players across the board in the league. In Germany, only Bayern and Wolfsburg are at this level, with a few exceptions: Hoffenheim and Frankfurt.
Karen Danner: A complete professional league must be one of the top goals. Players should be able to fully concentrate on football. Here, the clubs that play for the Champions League places make advance payments, so to speak. But there are approaches. There are great opportunities, for example, to make the DFB Cup more attractive with the final as the highlight of the season. At the moment, however, the DFB Cup is a negative business for some participants – and that can’t be.
A minus deal?
Karen Danner: Each club receives 2,500 euros for the first rounds. This then increases to four, twelve and 16,000 euros. Nothing has changed in ten years. In order to profit financially in the cup, you actually have to make it to the final. In England there are even two cup competitions because they can be marketed well. I don’t even ask for that. But the DFB Cup itself has to be raised differently.