AUDIO: Women’s Bundesliga clubs form league association without DFB (1 min)
As of: December 4th, 2025 2:28 p.m
In December, the German Football Association wanted to found a new league association together with the women’s Bundesliga. But now the women’s football Bundesliga is going its own way: As the 14 first division clubs announced on Thursday, the league association FBL eV will “initially” be founded without the DFB. An explosive twist.
It is still unclear what consequences the approach may have. The top German teams may be facing a momentous break with the umbrella organization. However, Bayern Munich’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen explained that the decision had now been made “unanimously” “so as not to waste any more time.”
The clubs’ press release states that the DFB has “finally participated” in the “initiated process” of the further professionalization of German women’s football. Whether the path “will be continued together with this in the future is still open at this point in time.” The association was founded – contrary to what was originally planned and desired by the clubs – initially without the participation of the DFB, which was actually supposed to have a 50 percent stake in the merger.
According to NDR information, the clubs only informed the German Football Association of this step shortly before the announcement was published. There have recently been major disagreements in the discussions about the structure of the merger.
Neuendorf spoke of a “strong and courageous signal”
The news comes as a surprise. The joint founding of the league association was originally supposed to take place on December 10th. At the beginning of November, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf spoke of a “strong and courageous signal, which in my view is urgently needed”. The project was also formally launched at the meeting. The date for founding remains the same. Only the bandage is out now.
The recent “very successful collaboration” of the past few months in the Frauen-Bundesliga Projekt GbR business plan will result in the founding of the Frauen-Bundesliga FBL eV,” said the club’s statement.
Clubs are disappointed with the DFB
Director of women’s football Ralf Kellermann from VfL Wolfsburg spoke of a great disappointment “that, in our opinion, central agreements with the DFB were not sufficiently taken into account and that the foundation was therefore carried out without his participation.” However, the clubs are “decided to continue constructively on the path they have begun – whether in the future together with the DFB or in an independent structure.”
“On the part of the 14 clubs, we are disappointed that, in our opinion, agreements that have already been made with the German Football Association are not reflected in the contractual materials. For this reason, the founding act is now being carried out without the involvement of the DFB.”
Board spokesman Axel Hellmann from Eintracht Frankfurt
According to board spokesman Axel Hellmann from Eintracht Frankfurt, the DFB no longer wanted to know anything about “arrangements that had already been made”. These were no longer reflected in the contract materials. And Bayern Munich’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen spoke of the fact that the DFB had suddenly questioned “negotiated key points” again.
What will happen to the announced investments worth millions?
The league association, which was recently called the “Women’s DFL”, is supposed to take over, among other things, the marketing of the Bundesliga. In their own words, the clubs also want to “organize themselves together in this way, with the clear aim of ensuring a modern, professional and sustainable development of the women’s Bundesliga and strengthening the economic performance of professional women’s football.”
“The basis for the merger of the clubs is the intention to invest significantly in women’s football, to promote it in sport and to make it more socially visible and thus to raise it to a new professional level.”
From the press release from the women’s professional clubs
It was announced at the Bundestag that the DFB would invest 100 million euros in women’s football over the next eight years. The first payments should therefore begin to flow from 2026 – i.e. before the next season. The clubs also announced that they wanted to invest heavily in personnel and infrastructure.
With a view to the 2029 European Championship, which was awarded to Germany and the DFB on Wednesday, it all seemed to fit together very well. But first there is a large construction site to close.
