1. FC Union Berlin – Smot and Großkotz: Union footballers and their president

When the women of the 1st FC Union play their first away game in the Bundesliga, they experience a lot of what Dirk Zingler doesn’t like at all. The travel destination of the Berlin women on the 2nd matchday is called Leverkusen. And if you believe the words of Union Association President, football under the Bayer Cross is as future-oriented as, for example, a steam locomotive.

Wild

“When I see what financial opportunities we have in professional football, it is shameful how little is received by women,” says Zingler. Bayer Leverkusen’s footballers have been playing in the Bundesliga for seven years and improved steadily during this time, fourth place in the previous season is the best result so far. Exact numbers are not known, but if you assume that the first division clubs spend an average of 2.4 million euros per season for their entire staff, you know roughly how big the gap between football players is at Bayer. While the men’s squad has a total value of almost 400 million euros, says Leverkusen’s managing director Sport, Simon Rolfes: “Women’s football is not helped if higher salaries are paid.” One of his best players, Florian Wirtz, is said to have paid 7.5 million euros a year.

You can complain about these conditions, especially with a view to the men’s football, in which it is completely normal for Wirtz to move to Liverpool for 150 million euros. However, every criticism remains clumsy if no solution is offered. On the one hand, Union plays opportunities with his footballers as part of the Köpenicker opportunities. And at some point the club were able to buy a player for 150 million euros, he would probably do it. Why? Because the market regulates it that way. This is exactly the answer to Union’s President after the first division of women at the end of May on “ND” demand what reasonable salaries for footballers were.

Dreary business trip

Zingler doesn’t give numbers either. However, the club invests properly in its women – and has almost brought almost a completely new starting eleven to Köpenick this summer. With the commitment of the 22-year-old striker Hannah Eurling, the 1st FC Union even set up a new transfer record in women Belgian football-120,000 euros are said to have flowed as a transfer to Leuven.

With this team, the promoted team immediately wants nothing to do with the descent. The first historical Bundesliga game ended 1-1 against 1st FC Nürnberg last Sunday. A lost point for the game -determining Köpenickers, but the first in the Bundesliga. And that was duly celebrated – with more than 11,000 fans in the old forestry. The Berlin women behind FC Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV were in third place on the spectator table. Last season the audience cut in the Bundesliga was almost 2700, in the bottom was Leverkusen. Probably less than the almost 1000 fans who otherwise look at the games of the Bayer women will come to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Monday evening. So it can be a very dreary business trip for Union, because many of the Leverkusen women see a secret favorite.

Zurative President

Zingler makes such a scenario erect. In addition to all the Bundesliga competitors who let their women play in side places, Union’s President was also linked to the DFB before the start of the season. “We have to go to the stadiums, to attractive places, and then also produce the whole thing professionally,” says Zingler. He criticizes the association for the fact that the match day in the Bundesliga is completely dismembered: From Friday to Monday there are seven different kick -off times in order to be able to market each game individually. You have to make the event attractive before you multiply it and bring it to the living room. The DFB argues that this model flushes more money into the coffers than ever. And that the income from the sale of media rights of around five million euros “almost one to one” will be passed on to the clubs and thereby investing them more.

Is there really a big puke from Köpenick to explain women’s football football? This impression arises quickly when the president of an association that has only offered his footballers professional conditions for two years, says: “In Germany, women’s football is kept small.”

Criticism from the comfort zone

Inertia, ignorance and symbol policy are used to the DFB and clubs in professional football. With his criticism, however, Zingler comes from a comfort zone. Because in women’s football, stadiums are full, especially where there is a strong bond of fans to the club. And Unions President and his colleagues have done a lot right in almost 20 years. Last season, an average of 7,000 spectators did not come to the old forester to marvel at their Unioners’ second division football against Weinberg or Andernach – they came to the 1. FC Union Berlin. Köpenick thus had the fourth highest viewer across Europe. “Més Que and Club,” says FC Barcelona. Because this is “more than one club” for Catalans, with almost 92,000 spectators he does not happen to keep the world record for a football game for women.

The instructions from Berlin were certainly not well received by clubs or those responsible who have been trying to continue the football of women. Perhaps all those who stop the women from Union have reached the limits that will stop at some point? In any case, Zingler and his Köpenicker Club will not change anything if he only spends the “what is necessary in order to be successful in terms of sport” and leave the further development to the market.