From a ban to a league of their own: How women’s football in Germany has changed

On 30 July 1955, the DFB prohibited its clubs from setting up women’s sections or allowing women to use their pitches. One justification was the claim that feminine grace disappeared in the struggle for the ball. Women nevertheless kept playing outside the association and even played unofficial international matches.

On 31 October 1970, the DFB lifted the ban. That did not mean equality for women’s football for a long time yet; special rules, such as shorter playing time, applied initially.

• 1974: TuS Wörrstadt becomes the first official German women’s champion
• 1982: first official international match in Koblenz, a 5:1 win against Switzerland
• 1989: first European Championship title, on home soil. The DFB rewarded the players with a coffee service
• 1990: founding of the Women’s Bundesliga, initially in two divisions and in a single division since the late 1990s

The German women’s national team became world champions in 2003 and 2007, won eight European Championship titles and took Olympic gold in 2016. For a long time, these achievements were out of proportion to the attention, pay and conditions.

• The league has grown: since the 2025/26 season, the Women’s Bundesliga has had 14 teams rather than 12.
• The clubs are organising themselves: on 10 December 2025, the 14 Bundesliga clubs founded the Ligaverband Frauen-Bundesliga FBL e.V. in Frankfurt. The new organisation is due to take over the running of league competitions from 1 July 2027.
• Investment is coming: the clubs have announced that they will invest a high three-digit million amount in professionalisation, marketing and infrastructure over the coming years. A minimum basic salary for players and minimum standards for staffing and training conditions are among their stated aims.
• The league is to become more visible: fixed kick-off times are planned, with one match on Friday, one on Saturday and simultaneous matches on Sunday.
• The next major tournament is coming to Germany: the Women’s European Championship will take place here in 2029.

A girl starting today sees female players on television, in full stadiums and with professional contracts. Twenty years ago, that could not be taken for granted. There is still plenty to do at grassroots level: not every club has a girls’ team, many girls play alongside boys for a long time, and specialist goalkeeper training for girls is rare.

That is precisely why Elite GK Coaching on Tour has a camp just for female goalkeepers: “She Keeps The Game”. Not because girls cannot train with boys. But because it makes a difference to be in a group for once where you are not the only girl.

The history of women’s football in Germany is a story of women who simply kept playing. I think that is a good thought for every girl putting on her gloves at the weekend.