The German women’s national soccer team cheers during the game against the Netherlands. (imago images / Eibner / Eibner press photo / Michael Memmler via www.imago-images.de)
Women’s football has experienced a boom since the 2022 European Championship. The women’s Bundesliga could therefore soon be expanded, said DFB Vice President Sabine Mammitzsch in the Dlf. In addition, the chances of a successful World Cup bid in 2027 are good.
The economic figures for the women’s Bundesliga are mixed. The average audience has almost tripled compared to the time before the corona pandemic, and income is also increasing. The report for the 2022/23 season also shows: The costs have also increased. On average, the clubs therefore recorded a minus 1.8 million.
New investments needed
DFB Vice President Sabine Mammitzsch, who is responsible for women’s and girls’ football, sees no reason for concern. The licensing associations in particular could compensate for this financially. Investments are also necessary to further develop football. To this end, they also want to bring “partners” on board so that even more “investments can be made from our own resources”.
Sabine Mammitzsch, DFB Vice President for Women’s and Girls’ Football, believes Germany’s World Cup bid is promising. (picture alliance / dpa / Sebastian Christoph Gollnow)
Mammitzsch did not want to speak directly about the entry of an investor like the one that had recently failed with the DFL. The aim must be “that we have another partner, that we have so much income that clubs are also able to pay a basic salary, in whatever form. Every club has to decide for themselves,” said the DFB official in the Deutschlandfunk sports talk.
According to Mammitzsch, a spin-off of women’s football could also be considered: “We are actually exactly at the point where the men’s Bundesliga decided back then: we are now going our own way. The only thing we’re missing is that we don’t have enough income.” The clubs in the men’s Bundesliga founded the German Football League in 2000.
Spin-off is to come – how remains open
She expects a decision on a spin-off this six months, but left it open whether this should take place under the umbrella of the DFL, in its own league association or within the structures of the DFB. But the clubs would rather implement the plans “yesterday than tomorrow,” said Mammitzsch.
Another proposal to professionalize women’s football is to expand the league to include more teams – there are currently twelve. Axel Hellmann, board spokesman for Eintracht Frankfurt and representative of the “Football Can Do More” initiative, called for an increase to 16 teams. Mammitzsch was open to expansion, albeit to 14 clubs. This is a “realistic number, also with regard to the international match calendar.” However, this can only be decided at the DFB Bundestag in autumn 2025, so the 14 teams would then not be able to start until the 2026/27 season at the earliest.
Is the DFB’s World Cup bid promising?
The expansion could be completed by the 2027 World Cup. Germany wants to organize this tournament together with the Netherlands and Belgium. The FIFA Congress will decide in May; the DFB’s competitors are the joint application from the USA and Mexico and Brazil’s application. According to DFB Vice President Mammitzsch, the “biggest competition will probably be the USA and Mexico, who want to invest an insane amount of money.”
There is currently a lot of fighting for the votes of Africa and Asia because there are no applicants from these two continents. According to Mammitzsch, the chances of the European application in the fight for 211 votes are good: “Germany is already expecting 100 votes, so the chance is 50:50. And everything is being done to bring the 2027 World Cup to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.” They are also relying on the contacts of the Netherlands and Belgium in discussions with the national associations.
New national coach can “form the team into a unit”
In terms of sport, there will be a big change for the national team in the summer: Christian Wück will succeed Horst Hrubesch after the Olympic Games. Wück won the World Cup with the men’s U17 team, but has no experience in the women’s division yet. Nevertheless, Sabine Mammitzsch emphasized that he could “further develop a team, form it into a unit and improve players individually.”