German football is apparently facing the biggest reform process in decades. Not only that the DFB regional league working group is meeting in person for the first time today. At the same time, there is a second DFL working group. Their connection is interesting.
There was a meeting of the new expert group of the German Football League (DFL) in Leipzig around the international match between the German national team and Slovakia. It was founded in mid-October. The high-ranking cast alone underlines the seriousness.
High-ranking ones Sports Directors advise on possible U21 Bundesliga
The sports directors Andreas Bornemann (FC St. Pauli), Joti Chatzialexiou (1. FC Nürnberg) and Markus Krösche (Eintracht Frankfurt) as well as FC Bayern youth director Jochen Sauer will be there with independent experts such as Sami Khedira and Jürgen Klopp, who, despite his position as Red Bull Global Head of Soccer, will primarily use his coaching past at Liverpool FC in England to discuss improving training and integrating talent advice in the professional sector. The managing directors of the DFL and DFB are Marc Lenz and Andreas Rettig respectively.
Red Bull football boss Jürgen Klopp is an expert and is in favor of a U21 Bundesliga.
According to SPORT-IM-OSTEN information, the introduction of an additional U21 Bundesliga is also being discussed in this round. It is unclear whether and, if so, how many of the second teams that are unpopular with fans would be dropped from the men’s game. It is probably no coincidence that this idea is being pushed parallel to the reform talks of the DFB working group on the regional league, in which the DFL is also represented. Especially because both groups – as long as they meet their target plan – want to have achieved results by spring 2026.
DFB: “Interactions observe and coordinate with each other”
But what does the DFB say about the connection between the two working groups? When asked by SPORT-IM-OSTEN, the association initially refers to Andreas Rettig, who represents the DFB in the DFL expert group. The association responds: “Of course, the DFB and DFL also communicate with each other regularly in order to take into account interactions and, if necessary, coordinate with each other. DFB and DFL are represented in both committees mentioned, and against this background there is an exchange and the different perspectives are taken into account.”
That means: Everything comes together at the headquarters in Frankfurt am Main; the largest sports association in the world doesn’t seem to be turning its back on an XXL reform. While the regional league question has so far focused on promotion problems and structural deficits (infrastructural requirements, organization, marketing), the DFB is addressing a new point for the working group with the regional associations for the first time: “The various interests and perspectives must be coordinated as best as possible. This includes aspects of talent promotion and also economic aspects. Here it is still important to find good compromises that ultimately have to be able to attract a majority.”
Talent development is a new building block for Regional league reform
It was not previously established that talent promotion would be a key indicator for regional league reform. But it symbolizes that the DFB is no longer interested in maintaining the old five-regional league structure. The greater the reduction in seasons, the higher the level of the fourth division will be and thus the chance that late bloomers will be able to develop into a Bundesliga or even national team player. The DFB team’s last major title was eleven years ago, the 2014 World Cup.
According to SPORT-IM-OSTEN information, a reduction to two 4th professional leagues South and North – possibly with five regional leagues among them – or a four-track regional league are still the favored models. When the DFB working group makes concrete proposals for this, it always has to consider the second teams at least in one alternative.
Klopp’s justification for the U21 Bundesliga
It is far from certain that the U21 Bundesliga will come. Frankfurt’s Markus Krösche, for example, is considered more of a skeptic. The biggest supporter is Jürgen Klopp, who experienced this model in practice in England and identified weaknesses in the transition of talent to the professional level in Germany. The Red Bull boss said in a statement just a month ago kicker interview: “I am absolutely convinced that our own U-21 league would help us. It’s not about a club and whether it’s happy. It’s about general development, and there’s something we’re not doing right because there isn’t enough coming out of it.”
The main reason Klopp cites for his theory is that biological growth has not yet ended for the vast majority of people at the age of 19 and the funding period therefore needs to be extended. With Andreas Rettig and Marc Lenz there is openness, but at some point the clubs all have to join in.
Markus Krösche has so far argued against a U21 Bundesliga.
A lot of criticism of the Hoffenheim II case
The conflict as to how things should proceed with talent and second teams has massively intensified in recent years and has been mixed up with the regional league question. For example, as southwest champions, Hoffenheim II was allowed to be promoted directly to the 3rd league without ever having to play against Lok Leipzig as northeast winners. The Sinsheimers then bought, among others, Yannik Lührs (for 400,000 euros from Dortmund II) and Deniz Zeitler (for 1 million euros from Ingolstadt) in order to let them compete exclusively in the 3rd league.
Coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz from league rival Energie Cottbus was outraged: “I have nothing against them bringing in players. But I don’t think a third division team can sign players of this size. Even some second division teams can’t do that. That has a bitter aftertaste.” The main problem: Due to the high TV money in the Bundesliga, such transfer fees for the reserve team can now be raised virtually on the side.
For Cottbus coach “Pele” Wollitz, the reserve teams distort the competition.
U21 Bundesliga promotes match practice and loan deals
Hoffenheim is particularly polarizing. Umut Tohumcu, a 45-time Bundesliga professional with a market value of 6 million euros, scored against Aue. These transfers to the 3rd league result in traditional clubs being accused of massive distortion of competition. An additional competition in the U21 Bundesliga would instead give more talents match practice and still leave the opportunity to loan top talent to other clubs in the 3rd or 4th league. However, it is possible that Bundesliga or second division teams will also register a U21 and a second team. All of this will probably be decided by spring.
Interesting: The origin of the reform zeal actually came from the East. When the Northeast Regional League teams called for a promotion reform in 2025 in Chemnitz on February 12, 2025, a model envisaged this U21 youth league. The DFB increasingly accepted the constructiveness of the suggestions and Jürgen Klopp independently pushed the discussion. It now seems as if the start in Chemnitz could become a historic starting point for the reform of German football.
Chronology for Advancement Initiative
