The 14 clubs of the Frauen Bundesliga, the top flight of women’s soccer in Germany, on Thursday announced that the German Football Association (DFB) would be excluded from a new body to manage the league.
The disgruntled clubs issued a statement saying a planned structure which would manage and promote the German women’s top flight would be founded “without the participation of the DFB.”
Rather than a joint structure between the clubs and the DFB, the new framework would be run solely by the clubs in a manner similar to the German Football League, which manages the men’s Bundesliga.
Photo: dpa via AP
The announcement comes just a day after Germany was confirmed as host of the Women’s Euros in 2029. German tabloid Bild reported that the DFB had changed the pre-agreed structure of the association, moving from shared decisionmaking to a system “which would have meant the league could not make decisions against the DFB’s wishes.”
Bayern Munich said the agreement was “unanimous” between all top-flight clubs, but left open the possibility of the DFB again being involved.
Eintracht Frankfurt said the clubs were disappointed that the DFB had gone back on commitments made during negotiations.
Union Berlin added the “consensus” in the original agreement “had been terminated by the DFB.”
Later on Thursday, the DFB in a statement said it was “surprised” by the clubs’ announcement and reiterated “we are convinced that the establishment of the joint venture is the right path for all parties involved.”
The DFB had previously committed to inject 100 million euros (US$116 million) into the jointly-managed association, which would have been unveiled on Wednesday next week in Frankfurt. Instead, the clubs would hold an event unveiling the new entity at a different Frankfurt location on the same day.
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