Germany edged into the Nations League final with a 2-2 draw that gave them a 3-1 aggregate victory over France, as Nicole Anyomi and Klara Bühl found the back of the net.
Christian Wück’s side will face World Cup champions Spain in the two-legged final of the women’s football tournament in late November and early December.
This is Germany’s first foray to the Nations League final after finishing third in 2024. It comes as the German Football Association (DFB) announced last week that they intend to make the largest single investment in the history of women’s football in Germany.
President Bernd Neuendorf confirmed that the federation will provide around €100 million ($117 million) to accelerate the professionalization of the Women’s Bundesliga.
Speaking to German newspaper the Frankfurter Rundschau, Neuendorf explained that the funding marks a decisive moment for the women’s game, both financially and structurally.
“The Women’s Bundesliga must be professionalized urgently,” he said. “It is the DFB’s largest investment since the construction of the Campus.”
“We want to ensure that the Women’s Bundesliga can stand on its own two feet — economically, structurally, and in terms of visibility,” Neuendorf added.
Klara Buhl scored in both legs of Germany’s Nations League semifinal against FranceImage: Stephane Mahe/REUTERS
A new company to manage the Women’s Bundesliga
The investment is part of a comprehensive reform plan that aims to transform how the Women’s Bundesliga is organized and marketed.
According to the DFB’s “growth plan” (Wachstumsplan) released in September, the centerpiece of the reform is the creation of a new league company dedicated solely to women’s football.
This new entity would be structured as a joint venture between the DFB’s commercial arm and a newly formed association of the Women’s Bundesliga clubs.
It would assume responsibility for the league’s operations, marketing, and strategic development, allowing women’s football to be governed with more independence and commercial focus than before.
The proposal will be voted on at the DFB Bundestag (General Assembly) in November. If adopted, the league company could begin operations as early as 2026.
Bundesliga clubs to play a financial role
While the DFB will supply the majority of the initial capital, Neuendorf emphasized that clubs must also be part of the process financially.
Making clear that the responsibility for building a stronger league cannot rest solely on the DFB, he said: “The clubs themselves will also have to contribute substantially to this process.”
Under the planned model, clubs will take a greater role in commercial and organizational decision-making, with both the federation and the clubs investing in and benefitting from the league’s growth.
Long-standing demands for reform
The move follows years of calls from players, coaches, and administrators for stronger investment and professional standards in the women’s game.
Despite the global success of the German women’s national team, which has won two World Cups and eight European Championships, the domestic league has struggled to keep pace with international competition. This is particularly true in comparison with England and Spain, where professionalization has advanced more rapidly at the domestic level.
Although attendance figures and television audiences seen improvements in recent years, the DFB has acknowledged that the financial and structural gap between men’s and women’s football remains significant.
Enhanced visibility and marketing initiatives for the Women’s Bundesliga have marked small steps forward over recent years but Neuendorf’s announcement represents the first major structural reform since the league was founded in 1990.
Wück praises investment moves
Women’s national team coach Wück welcomed the investment, saying that the initiative was necessary to ensure that German women’s football remains competitive internationally.
“The DFB, together with the clubs, is doing everything necessary to take the right steps so that German players stay in Germany,” he told Tagesspiegel. “So that our league is attractive enough to keep up with the English and French leagues.”
Creating a separate league company would bring the Women’s Bundesliga in line with governance models already in place in other major European leagues, such as England’s Women’s Super League (WSL) and Spain’s Liga F.
As Neuendorf summarized, the investment is meant to ensure that the women’s game is not treated as secondary but as a vital part of German football’s identity and future.
“It is an investment in the future — in equality, in opportunity, and in the growth of the women’s game,” he said.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
