“Important milestone” as Women’s Bundesliga moves to 14 teams | OneFootball

The DFB has decided to increase the number of clubs by two from 2025/26 onwards, with technical director Katharina Kiel welcoming the move on behalf of Eintracht.

The German Football League (DFB) has announced that there will be 14 teams in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga from the 2025/26 season, increasing the number of participants from 12. The DFB board’s decision comes after recommendations made by the DFB committees for the Women’s Bundesliga (AFBL) and Women’s and Girls’ Football (AFM). The majority of clubs were in favour of this increase, including Eintracht Frankfurt.

“The increase in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga is an important milestone for us in terms of the visibility of women’s football in Germany,” said Katharina Kiel, technical director for Eintracht Women. “We are convinced that this will boost the image and quality of the league in the short and medium term and improve the competition. More clubs will have the opportunity to establish themselves in women’s football and to invest in it, which can only improve the standing of the Bundesliga. We see the increase at this stage as the right intermediate move towards a 16-club league and as such the next logical step in the growth process of women’s football, which we are looking to actively encourage as a club.”

Promotion and relegation rules modified

The forthcoming 2024/25 season will serve to establish which clubs play at which level in 2025/26. As such, only one club instead of two will be relegated from the Women’s Bundesliga after the 2024/25 season, and the three top teams from Women’s Bundesliga 2 will receive direct promotion. Should fewer than three of the top four clubs be promoted, no-one will be relegated from the Bundesliga. This will be the case if clubs which have earned promotion on the pitch cannot or do not want to be promoted to the Women’s Bundesliga.