One day after Germany celebrated the award of the Euro 2029 tournament, a joint league partnership plan between the German Football Association (DFB) and the 14 women’s Bundesliga clubs unexpectedly collapsed. As they jointly announced on Thursday, the 14 clubs will establish the “Frauen-Bundesliga FBL eV” independently, without the German Football Association (DFB). This is due to differences between the two parties, related to plans to promote the marketing of the German Women’s Football League and enhance its professionalism. The German Football Association declined to comment when contacted by the SID agency, which specializes in sports issues.
“The main points for creating a joint FBL GmbH (limited liability company) had already been agreed in talks with the German Football Association, so to question the parameters that were negotiated at that time was even more surprising for us, for the clubs, even though they would invest much more in the Women’s Bundesliga,” Bayern Munich CEO Jan Christian Driessen said. He added that the decision was taken unanimously “so as not to waste any more time.”
The original plan stipulated that the league and the German Football Association (DFB) would each own 50% of the shares in something like the “RL Women’s Bundesliga”. The German Football Association intended to invest €100 million in the required professionalism and gradually pump money into the league over eight years. DFB President Bernd Neuendorf emphasized this point in relation to his re-election to the DFB Congress. The federation considered greater financial involvement for the clubs: they would have to invest hundreds of millions of euros in staff and infrastructure.
Axel Hellmann, spokesman for the Eintracht Frankfurt board of directors, said: “We are disappointed that the agreements already reached with the German Football Association were not reflected in the contract documents. For this reason, the institution will be implemented without the participation of the German Football Association.”
How the process will proceed, and whether it will culminate in a joint project with the German Football Association or whether the clubs will go their own way, “is a completely open topic at the moment.” According to the newspaper BildThe DFB allegedly made “unacceptable demands” after the contracts were finalised. These demands refer, among other things, to the majority needed to make decisions. The founding meeting is scheduled to be held next week at the Frankfurt Arena.
(Cid, Kicker, Sportbild/L)