"We will most likely invest between 700 and 800 million euros over the next eight years," Katharina Kiel, president of the newly founded league association FBL, told kicker, adding: "There is a huge difference between that and what the DFB wanted to invest."
Getty ImagesSpecifically, the DFB had "honestly earmarked only around 60 million euros for the first division", Kiel explained, "because that figure also covered the second division, refereeing and other costs that would not have directly advanced our development. That would have translated to only a low six-figure sum per club per year, which Kiel dismissed as "nowhere near enough to drive meaningful development."
In February, the League Association rejected the proposed joint venture with the DFB, and the FBL now aims to run match operations independently from the 2027/28 season onwards. All eyes are on England. "As in men's football, the millions and billions from investors there are not sustainable, but they do distort competition," Kiel said. "I am convinced that we will find a solution."
The Women's Super League (WSL) acts as both a model and a cautionary tale. "In England, there has been more courage in implementing certain initiatives," Kiel noted. "We can learn a lot from the way the WSL has been set up. But England is also watching us closely at the moment, because they have created major dependencies through the large amounts of money involved. Certain time slots, for example, cannot be allocated to women's matches. We want to maintain our independence in that regard."
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