Interim result: DFB: Women’s football “arrived in people’s minds”

interim balance
DFB: women’s football “arrived in people’s minds”

DFB coordinator Doris Fitschen presents the first balance sheet “Strategy Women in Football FF 27” on the DFB campus. photo

© Arne Dedert/dpa

Women’s football has been booming since the European Championships. At least public perception has changed, as the DFB is pleased to note in an interim report.

According to the DFB, the reach of the national team and Bundesliga in women’s football has increased massively on television and in social networks.

Across platforms, the increase in social media is 186 percent. The views grew from 117 million in the first half of 2021/22 to 335 million (first half of 2022/23). This was announced by the DFB in the interim report of its “strategy for women in football FF27”.

“The EM absolutely played us into the cards and brought in dynamism,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf at the press conference in Frankfurt/Main, with a view to the greater visibility since the successful 2022 tournament in England. The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in the summer will “help us to make further progress with our strategy”. However, there is still no agreement in rights poker between the world association FIFA and German TV broadcasters such as ARD and ZDF for the tournament.

TV reach increased by 59 percent

The cumulative TV reach of the national team, the Bundesliga and the DFB Cup has also increased massively – according to the DFB from 150 million in the first half of 2021/22 to 239 million a year later. This corresponds to an increase of 59 percent. The average number of viewers in the Bundesliga has grown from 806 in the previous season to 2671 at the moment.

“Women’s football has arrived in the minds of the decision-makers and also in the hearts of the people,” said DFB General Secretary Heike Ullrich. Four goals were set last year for the funding project, which is headed by ex-national player Doris Fitschen: by 2027, when Germany wants to host the World Cup together with Belgium and the Netherlands, the national teams and Bundesliga clubs should have won international titles.

In addition, the number of female players, coaches and referees should increase by 25 percent, the media coverage of women’s football should double and the proportion of women in committees and full-time management levels at the DFB should be at least 30 percent. The number of active players has increased by 26.2 percent in the recent period. For the time being, however, this only means that it has returned to the level it was before Corona. “Of course, the pandemic has had its strong impact. In the summer we can actually say where the journey is going,” explained Fitschen.

dpa

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