DFB Dispute: New Women’s League Association Forms

The German Football Association and the Women’s Bundesliga have come closer together after their dispute immediately before the league association was founded – but the 14 clubs are keeping the negotiating pressure high. “The idea with the DFB has not been destroyed,” said the unanimously elected president of the new umbrella organization, Katharina Kiel from Eintracht Frankfurt.

“Our task remains to take the next steps with an open mind. Every path has advantages and disadvantages,” added Kiel, who is the director of women’s football at Eintracht, with a view to the clubs still possible going it alone. The 33-year-old described the founding of the Frauen-Bundesliga FBL eV as a “historic day” for women’s football, but remained vague on some details.

Neuendorf in the group photo

DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, who also took part in the group photo, gave a greeting to the club representatives at the meeting in the Frankfurt stadium, but was not present at the press conference. Just a few days ago, the Bundesliga clubs accused the association of breaking agreements in an unprecedented action.

In particular, Eintracht boss Axel Hellmann and Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen had publicly criticized the DFB. The association feels snubbed by the media blitz from Hellmann and Co.

The DFB had “questioned key points that had already been negotiated,” Dreesen told the dpa. “This not only irritated us 14 clubs, but also came as a complete surprise to us.”

DFB General Secretary Holger Blask contradicted: “Contracts ready for signature have not yet been submitted. The clubs’ negotiators had sent the DFB far-reaching additions and requests for changes, to which the DFB responded in the usual way.”

Hellmann: “There is no problem with Bernd Neuendorf”

Hellmann pointed out that he always spoke to Neuendorf on the phone and that the DFB boss was not directly involved in the negotiations. “There is no problem with Bernd Neuendorf. We will keep in touch.” It is not desirable to go it alone, but it is about a shared understanding of roles.

In contrast to men’s professional football, which is organized and marketed under the umbrella of the German Football League (DFL), the women’s Bundesliga has so far been run by the DFB. The league association should result in a GmbH with the association – as long as Neuendorf’s announcement. The founding event was originally supposed to take place on the DFB campus.

There is still no agreement on important points

Veronica Saß, Legal Director at FC Bayern Munich, was elected as the first vice-president of the league association, and Florian Zeutschler from SGS Essen was elected as the second vice-president. The structures in the women’s Bundesliga are to be professionalized as early as the 2026/2027 season. The DFB wants to invest 100 million euros over the next eight years, and the clubs are talking about their calculated share of up to 700 million euros.

However, there is still no agreement on important points. This also concerns voting rights in a GmbH. The league association and the DFB are insisting on three seats each in the originally planned six-person management committee of the joint venture. In possible stalemate situations, the clubs still want to have more control – the DFB has so far rejected that.

Kiel: “Cannot be canceled after four years”

“We bear the entrepreneurial risk,” emphasized Kiel. “When it comes to who makes the most important decisions, we already have a consensus that we do the most work.” In addition, the contract duration is open. “The time frame cannot simply be canceled after four years,” said Kiel.

“For us, it’s about continuing to negotiate what we had as a plan in different working groups,” explained Zeutschler. Neuendorf did not comment after the founding meeting. The DFB and the newly founded league association (FBL eV) would each hold 50 percent of the joint venture.