No goal spectacle in the 0-0 draw between Eintracht and FC Bayern, but a unique setting for the women’s Bundesliga. The number of spectators sets a record in a league in which an average of just over 800 fans recently came to the games.
For Giulia Gwinn it was “super nice”, Lea Schüller found the scenery “outstanding” and Laura Freigang “simply sensational”.
The heroines of the European Championship, Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Bayern, watched the goalless opening game in the women’s Bundesliga on Friday evening with sparkling eyes in front of a record crowd of 23,200 fans. 47 days after the Wembley final, which was lost to England, those responsible for the German Football Association in the large Frankfurt stadium also noted that the euphoria triggered at the European Championship was having an effect. The key question, however, remains how this will affect everyday league life.
Signal effect for the entire league
Siegfried Dietrich, sporting director at Eintracht and a longtime doer in women’s football, is certain: “What we have experienced here sends out a signal for the entire league.” The previous visitor record from 2014 – 12,464 fans at VfL Wolfsburg against 1. FFC Frankfurt – was almost doubled. Almost as many spectators came to the Deutsche Bank Park as to the Friday evening game of the men’s Bundesliga between Mainz 05 and Hertha BSC with 25,300.
“In the meantime I had goosebumps. We all enjoyed it,” said Frankfurt goalkeeper Stina Johannes, who did not allow anything against the Bayern aces Gwinn, Schüller, Lina Magull and Klara Bühl. “A lot of work was done behind the scenes to make this possible. I’m super grateful for that,” stressed international striker Freigang.
“Interest has increased everywhere”
However, Eintracht, which has a huge crowd of men behind it, certainly had it easier than other clubs, which are now required. The second so-called highlight game is already scheduled for next September 24 (5:55 p.m.) in the Sinsheim stadium. Then TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, who already have to fight for spectators in the Bundesliga for men, demands champions VfL Wolfsburg. The game will not only be broadcast on MagentaSport, but also on ARD.
Before the kick-off of the opening game, many women’s football officials discussed in the VIP tent in front of the stadium at the “FF27 Forum – Women in Football” congress how the momentum from the European Championship could be carried over. In 2027, the DFB hopes to host the World Cup.
Nadine Kessler, the former world soccer player from VfL Wolfsburg and today’s top official at the umbrella organization UEFA, has “great hopes” that the German Bundesliga “will become more professional. I think the enthusiasm has also spilled over into other countries. Interest has increased everywhere. ” National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg emphasized: “It is clear to us that we have to be persistent now, stay tuned for the long term.”
New target groups
DFB Vice-President Sabine Mammitzsch proudly reported that interest in players had increased visibly. The association has an increase of 150 percent in first-time registrations among women and girls in the clubs compared to the previous year. The number of players has increased by 25 percent.
Christian Keller, as managing director of 1. FC Köln, first class for both women and men, also explained that they wanted to address new target groups. “Women’s football is a different stadium experience,” he said, recalling the riots of Cologne fans at the Conference League game in Nice: “We didn’t give the image of a woman-friendly, child-friendly sport.” In Frankfurt, the burning of pyrotechnics, which is so popular there, also failed to materialize on Friday evening.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
