Women’s Bundesliga dispute shows no sign of ending

The planned joint venture between a new women’s league association ‘Frauen-Bundesliga FBL e.V.‘ (FBL) and the German Football Association (DFB) has fallen through. The news was announced by the 14 clubs in the Women’s Bundesliga after their first general meeting in Frankfurt this week. In a statement, the DFB said they “regretted” the clubs’ decision. DW answers the most important questions about the dispute and its bearing on women’s football.

Why does the Women’s Bundesliga need to change?

Simply, Germany’s domestic league has been overtaken by other European rivals, as evidenced by the Champions League. The last time a German team won Europe’s biggest club trophy was over a decade ago, when 1. FFC Frankfurt triumphed in 2015. Since then, the winners have come from France (Lyon six times), Spain (Barcelona three times) and England (Arsenal last season).

In these countries, the women’s leagues have become significantly more professional over the past decade compared to the Bundesliga, both structurally and in terms of earning potential. As a result, Europe’s best players favor them over German clubs.

What has been done so far to professionalize the women’s Bundesliga?

In 2022, the DFB presented its FF27 (Women’s Soccer 2027) program. This set out to promote the sport in Germany and make it more visible. The Bundesliga should become more professional, it said, and top German clubs should win international titles again by 2027.

At the start of the 2024/2025 season, the Bundesliga was expanded from twelve to fourteen teams. It now consists mainly of clubs that also have teams in the men’s Bundesliga. The only exceptions are SGS Essen and Carl Zeiss Jena – and they are at the bottom of the table.

Attendance figures have been stagnating recently, but this season the curve is pointing upwards. The average (as of February 6, 2026) is about 3,600 spectators per game. By comparison, an average of around 6,400 fans attend games in the Women’s Super League in England.

What did the original plan for a new Bundesliga structure entail?

In order to further professionalize the league, a joint venture between the Bundesliga clubs and the DFB was mooted—based on the model of the men’s Bundesliga, where the German Football League (DFL) is responsible for organizing and marketing the league. The 36 clubs in the first and second divisions are represented in the DFL and there is a cooperation between the league association and the DFB.

The DFB and the clubs wanted to establish such a structure for the women’s Bundesliga.

What went wrong?

Last December, the 14 Bundesliga clubs launched the new league association (FBL) as planned – but without the DFB. The clubs accused the association of breaking its word. They claimed that the DFB had subsequently tried to enforce a rule that no important decisions could be made in the new league without its involvement. The clubs argued that they should have the final say because they invest significantly more money in the Bundesliga than the DFB.

At a meeting in Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, in November, the DFB announced that it would contribute a total of €100 million ($118 million) over a period of eight years to further professionalize women’s football in Germany. The Bundesliga clubs reportedly want to pump up to €700 million into the league in the coming years.

Despite intensive negotiations on both sides, no agreement could be reached.

“The future of the women’s Bundesliga must be shaped where the sporting and economic engine lies – with the clubs,” said FBL President Katharina Kiel.

What happens next?

Both sides have stated that they want to continue talks. This is necessary, because otherwise nothing will change in terms of responsibility for the women’s Bundesliga.

Until now, it has been the sole responsibility of the DFB, who have made it clear that they will “continue to ambitiously run the women’s Bundesliga under its umbrella for the time being.” The current season is just over halfway through.

However, the DFB also knows that the Bundesliga is dependent on the clubs. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the clubs could be tempted to boycott the old league and form a new breakaway league of their own.

This article was translated from German.

Edited by: Jonathan Harding