The German Football Association (DFB) said today it will expand the number of teams in its women’s top flight, the Frauen Bundesliga from twelve to fourteen teams.
Following meeting of the DFB Board, the majority of the twelve teams currently in the top flight have voted in favour of expanding the number of clubs in the Frauen Bundesliga from the 2025/26 season.
In a statement, the DFB explained that “the decision is part of a development process and the result of extensive discussions with the clubs of the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga and 2. Women’s Bundesliga as well as the AFBL (Frauen Bundesliga Committee) and AFM (Women’s and Girls’ Football), the majority of which have spoken out in favor of expanding the Women’s Bundesliga.”
Of the five major leagues in Europe, only Spain’s Liga F – the home of the current European champions FC Barcelona – has more than twelve teams, with fifteen. The English Women’s Super League and France’s Première Ligue both have twelve and Italy’s Serie A only ten.
Germany has been the most historically successful side in the UEFA
iShares MSCI EAFE ETF
Women’s Champions League with nine winners, more than any other country. However, the last of those came with VfL Wolfsburg in 2014 and the season just gone was the first-ever in which a German side has not reached the last eight of the competition.
The decision of the DFB today means that next season only one team, instead of two, will be relegated from the top flight and three will be promoted from the 2. Frauen Bundesliga, the second tier, which also currently consists of fourteen teams.
FC Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt, and SC Freiburg currently have their second teams playing in the German second tier. If any of those teams finish in the top three positons, they will be ineligible for promotion to ensure a fair competition in the top flight. This creates the possibility that no team will be relegated from the Frauen Bundesliga next season.
A club finishing in the top three of the 2. Frauen Bundesliga could also refuse the opportunity to be promoted if they feel they will not be able to meet the necessary licensing requirements of playing in the German top flight. The question of whether enough teams will meet the criteria will be one for aspiring clubs to battle with.
MSV Duisburg – the successors to the German champions in 2000, FCR Duisburg – were relegated from the Frauen Bundesliga last season. They opted not to apply for a license to play in the second tier next season dropping directly into the lower regional leagues, “since we do not see ourselves as being in a financial position to participate in the 2nd Women’s Bundesliga in the 2024/2025 season, the application must therefore be withdrawn.”
The club made the unfortunate decision that it could no longer finance the women’s section following the corresponding relegation of its men’s team into the Regional Leagues. In a statement, MSV Duisburg admitted that “unfortunately, despite all efforts, it has not been possible to find the sponsors and patrons necessary for this project, without whom a start in the second division would not be financially viable for MSV.”
In the last twelve seasons, the Bundesliga has been won by just two teams – either VfL Wolfsburg (seven times) or FC Bayern (five times). In fact no other side has finished in the too two since the now defunct 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2014 (since incorporated into men’s club Eintracht Frankfurt).
The twelve years before that were dominated by Frankfurt and another independent women’s club 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam, both of whom also won the UEFA Women’s Champions League. However since then, the German women’s game has increasingly seen teams amalgamated with the big names of the men’s game come to the fore, mirroring what has been happening across Europe.
DFB Vice President for Women’s and Girls’ Football, Sabine Mammitzsch said “since its founding in the 1990/1991 season, the Frauen Bundesliga has undergone remarkable development. From the beginnings in two divisions, North and South, each with ten teams, to the current single-track structure with twelve teams – each step marked a milestone in development.”
“Together with the clubs of the Frauen Bundesliga, we will now take the next steps. A broader competition and more visibility for all teams will continue to focus on the league. Appropriate framework conditions should promote the development of our players and strengthen the loyalty of the fans.”
Since last season the Frauen Bundesliga has been sponsored by Google Pixel. They agreed on a naming-rights deal for the league worth over $22 million (€20.7 million) over four seasons. It was said that 90% of all revenue from the deal would be shared equally between the teams ensuring $415,000 (€388,000) for each of the twelve teams.
Whether the expansion of the league is matched by an equivalent increase in funding remains to be seen. The DFB has also made the decision to reintroduce the German Supercup this summer, an extra showpiece final to be played between the winners of the Frauen Bundesliga (FC Bayern) and DFB Pokal (VfL Wolfsburg) to be staged in Dresden in August.
The head of women’s football at TSG Hoffenheim, Ralf Zwanziger explained why the expansion was necessary for clubs like his own who failed to qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the extra revenue that generates. “The four additional games from the 2025/26 season alone will strengthen the visibility of all clubs and especially for those that are not internationally represented.”
He also hinted that the expansion of the league may not stop at fourteen teams. “The increase from twelve to fourteen teams can only be an interim goal. It is therefore more than positive that there is consensus among all to implement a further increase in the medium term in order to give more clubs the opportunity to take part in the competition.”
