It’s bubbling in the background
What does the “amazing backdrop” mean for women’s football?
By Sebastian Schneider, Cologne
5/20/2023 7:54 am
Never before has a women’s soccer game in Germany attracted so many fans to the stadium as the DFB Cup final between Wolfsburg and Freiburg. On Father’s Day, everyone involved celebrates a football festival. But not everything is good, the trouble about the World Cup is just one topic.
Sometimes it’s like gentlemen. Record winners VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg brought their fans with them to the women’s DFB Cup final. And even if the highlighter green of the wolves predominated in the stands, a familiar pattern played out. Although the series winner, Wolfsburg, dominated the field, it was SC Freiburg’s supporters who were clearly louder in the stands. Even Freiburg Ultras traveled with them. In the end, however, both fan camps were happy – at least a little. Because when Wolfsburg won the tenth cup, Cologne’s Rhein-Energie Stadium was sold out – 44,808 people, another German record for women’s football.
The new record got many people into raptures. National player Janina Minge, who lost 4-1 with her Freiburg team, spoke of a “mega atmosphere” and an “amazing backdrop”. “You won’t forget that in a hurry,” she explained on ARD. National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg put the attendance record in context: “The fact that we have so many people here is the reward for years of work, for faith and for outstanding sporting achievements.”
Since last summer at the latest, German women’s football has been chasing from one record to the next. The DFB team has already collected one title after the other (eight European Championship wins, two World Cups), but the hype was triggered by the European Championship tournament in 2022, including the defeat in the final against England (1: 2). This boom carries over to the Bundesliga. The average has more than doubled compared to the previous year, with an average of 2,671 fans watching a game in the stadium.
A whole new audience
What is much more important, however, is that behind these numbers there is a completely new audience. Those who hung around at the fan festival before the cup final saw many families as well as many female football fans. And the girls not only wear the shirts of their heroines, they also play themselves. The names of clubs from all over Germany were printed on their training clothes. For many, the trip to the cup final is the final highlight of the season. In addition, numerous families later sat in the stands. As a result, throughout the day, the loudspeaker systems were used to search for the lost Mika, Jakob or Ibrahim.
What the record crowd saw on the pitch was also good football. The game was exciting, the pace between Wolfsburg and Freiburg was high and technically they are in no way inferior to the men. For a long time, the Wolves showed why the eleven from the Mittelland Canal have now dominated the DFB Cup for nine years. Captain Alex Popp directed the offensive game, Lena Oberdorf cleared the Wolves in front of their own defense and played clever passes. And although the Freiburg women were nervous at the beginning, they followed a clear plan and remained courageous.
World Cup not to be seen in Germany?
Yet. The fact that women’s football still has a long way to go is shown in a debate that has been smoldering for some time. A good two months before the start of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand (July 20th to August 20th) it is still not clear whether the games in Germany will now be shown. DFB President Bernd Neuendorf described the discussions with FIFA on the fringes of the final as “sensitive”. It is important that we treat each other confidentially and do not carry out the talks in the open market, he said. “But assume that the wires are running and that we will hopefully come to a conclusion.”
National coach Voss-Tecklenburg became clearer. “I firmly believe that there is a solution in terms of football, in terms of us. I can only appeal to everyone involved and hope that there will be a solution next week,” she said. A timely solution is “there is no alternative”.
The problem is this: So far, the big tournaments – men’s and women’s – have been awarded together. Yes, FIFA has now decoupled that, presumably to earn more. The reasoning behind it: More TV money also means more bonuses for the players. The previous bids of the five major leagues have not been sufficient for the world association. According to reports, they should be around five million euros for the German bidders – for the men, sums of up to 200 million euros are assumed.
An “obscene game”
The fact that it had to be discussed for so long made ex-national goalkeeper Almuth Schult angry. On Deutschlandfunk she spoke of an “obscene game” by FIFA. “The whole process is unimaginable in a men’s tournament,” she said. How the possible blackout will continue is unclear. ARD director Tom Burow recently said on WDR that he had made “the highest bid”, but not the rich “Mr. Infantino”. Instead, the FIFA boss is trying to build moral pressure for better pay. “You can’t let yourself be blackmailed,” said Burov.
But lack of visibility and unequal pay compared to men are not the only problems. Women’s football is changing, but it needs help to make it happen. Every year a club in the Bundesliga loses around 1.5 million euros. If you don’t join forces with a financially strong club from the men’s Bundesliga, you’ll quickly run into problems. That’s why 1. FFC Frankfurt is now also called Eintracht Frankfurt. Otherwise there is a risk of sporting relegation if no investment is made: Just like what happened to the two-time Champions League winner Turbine Potsdam.
Then a fundamental question arises. FC Bayern, VfL Wolfsburg, SC Freiburg: The women’s table reads more and more like the men’s. In addition, RB Leipzig will also be promoted next season. The last first division club without the help of a licensed men’s team is SGS Essen. That’s why others get creative. Viktoria Berlin from the regional league is trying a completely different concept. There, prominent investors have transformed the women’s department into a kind of football startup. This is how they want to make it to the Bundesliga.
But on Thursday in Cologne, these developments didn’t matter at first. In the final phase, the Freiburg fans began to complain loudly. Referee Fabienne Michel had previously interrupted the game. A special moment had come: With support from the Cologne basement, she decided on the first VAR penalty in German women’s football. The displeasure of the Freiburg annex was then directed at the DFB. Some things are just the same everywhere.