Football – Bundesliga: The women are planning an uprising – against the DFB

Only during an international break for the men does the curtain rise so much for the women: When Eintracht Frankfurt plays against TSG Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, ARD will broadcast live. However, the larger television audience will also notice the rather tranquil setting in the Dietmar Hopp Stadium – even though there should actually be more. That’s why eleven clubs in the women’s Bundesliga have founded the “Business Plan Women’s Bundesliga Project GbR”. With the help of the English agency Portas, they want to explore what a self-sustaining ecosystem could look like.

With the exception of VfL Wolfsburg, which was unable to join this company for internal reasons, all clubs sent representatives. Portas was involved in the spin-off of England’s Women’s Super League (WSL) and, with his eight-person project team headed by Patrick Massey, has now presented a complete package for Germany that costs the clubs around 200,000 euros. Diagnosis, business plan, financing strategy through to implementation: It’s about a league with a new identity, new format and new professional standards.

Clubs want faster progress

The German Football Association (DFB), which was previously responsible and informed about the procedure, no longer has a say because the clubs are striving for faster progress. The association presented a comprehensive growth and professionalization plan last year, but the clubs were not satisfied with it. In addition, the DFB had calculated a financial requirement of 135.8 million euros for ten years. Where will the money come from?

The clubs discussed their own approach for the first time in Cologne in February, followed by another meeting in Frankfurt in May. The driving forces are Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and 1. FC Cologne. It is said that the unity is striking despite major differences. Frankfurt’s technical director Katharina Kiel, Bavaria’s sports director Bianca Rech and Cologne’s department head Nicole Bender-Rummler maintain a trusting exchange. The board members Axel Hellmann (Frankfurt), Jan-Christian Dreesen (Bavaria) and Christian Keller (Cologne) have already exchanged ideas at the highest level. There should be no bans on thinking.

Simulation games without the DFB

The further role of the DFB could be exciting. Portas cites as one of five key questions: How should the league be run and operated? Adapting the organization is part of the package of measures. The professional advisors are in contact with the DFB Women’s Bundesliga Committee and other representatives. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that the association will no longer be needed at some point. Cutting the cord – possibly into a separate company in which shares can be sold – would be a brave approach. A transition phase of at least two or three years would be needed. The clubs want to present their first results at the end of the year.

When asked, the goal is not, Kiel clarifies, “to create an image of men’s football.” She has been working for Eintracht for two years and is driving forward strategic issues. It doesn’t just want a copy of the extremely successfully marketed WSL in England, but rather its own model that is tailored to the needs of the clubs and their respective target groups.

Portas’ goals for an “iconic, distinctive league brand” are ambitious: the infrastructure should be optimized, visibility increased, fan loyalty promoted and the product improved – in order to become the best “women’s sports league in the world”. The aim is for the league to have revenue of 100 million euros by 2030, net profitability in all clubs, an average number of spectators of 20,000 fans, reaching 100 million people annually via social media from the league, clubs and active players, as well as opening the Berlin Olympic Stadium for big games fill. Recently, the number of highlight games has been declining: so far, only VfL Wolfsburg against FC Bayern in front of 17,152 spectators and Werder Bremen against Bayer Leverkusen in front of 22,721 visitors have dared to move to a stadium otherwise used by men.

Portas describes other visions: Germany should win the Champions League several times and the 2031 World Cup and then host a World Cup, which failed in the bid for 2027. In the World Cup year of 2027, investors focused on women will join the Bundesliga through shares in a “Founders Club” and new broadcast partnerships will primarily appeal to young, diverse target groups in Germany, but also Europe.

Dependence on men

The DFB economic report recently showed only two million euros in revenue for each Bundesliga club. The average loss was 1.8 million in the 2022/23 season; The deficit is significantly greater for top clubs with international ambitions. Frankfurt’s Kiel makes it clear: “We pay for the operation.” The rapidly growing market for women’s football is leading to “an ever greater dependence on men’s football and is presenting pure women’s clubs with an even greater challenge.”

After the successful European Championship 2022 in England, the DFB was immediately able to ensure widespread TV coverage that other women’s ball sports can only dream of. 5.17 million euros will come in through the television contract, which runs until 2027. But the value chain would actually have to be improved much faster if the league plays with 14 clubs next season. “Every club, whether national or international, is experiencing the same growing pains,” explains Kiel, “because the increasing expenses are causing the corresponding pressure everywhere.”