Founding of Women's Bundesliga FBL e.V. Executive committee with Veronica Saß from FC Bayern

The 14 first division clubs in German women's football have joinied forces for the first time to found the Women's Bundesliga FBL e.V. With the founding ceremony on 10 December in Frankfurt am Main, the clubs of the Women's Bundesliga achieved a milestone for the development of women's football.

1. FC Union Berlin, SV Werder Bremen, SGS Essen, Eintracht Frankfurt, SC Freiburg, Hamburger SV, TSG Hoffenheim, Carl Zeiss Jena, 1. FC Köln, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, FC Bayern München, 1. FC Nürnberg and VfL Wolfsburg have jointly founded the Women's Bundesliga FBL e.V. at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt am Main. In doing so, and in a unique process in German women's football, the clubs have achieved a milestone. The joint organisation of the first division clubs is synonymous with the joint decision to actively shape the future of German women's football as clubs in a sustainable manner, to develop potential and to maximise professionalism through significant investment.

In accordance with its adopted statutes, the newly founded Women's Bundesliga FBL e.V. also elected a three-member executive committee, headed by an elected president. Katharina Kiel (Eintracht Frankfurt) was elected to the office of president. The executive committee, which will represent the interests of the club association, is completed by 1st vice-president Veronica Saß (FC Bayern Munich) and 2nd vice-president Florian Zeutschler (SGS Essen). Following the founding act, the first constituent meeting of the newly founded Women's Bundesliga FBL e.V. took place with representatives from all founding clubs. With the founding, the league association and its executive committee are taking up their work and continuing the initiated process for the future of the Women's Bundesliga in a new capacity.

Katharina Kiel, president of the Women's Bundesliga FBL e.V., said: "This is a historic day for German women's football. For the first time, all first division clubs have joined forces and pooled their interests in a league association. For us, this marks the provisional culmination of a process that we began together as clubs around a year and a half ago. However, the founding is not a conclusion, but the beginning of a strong, visible and independent league. This act of unity by all 14 first division clubs is a sign of cohesion, responsibility and a new beginning. Together, out of a deep conviction, we want to further develop women's football, making it more professional and sustainable. We will conduct the discussions with the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) in this context and with an open mind. We will always make our decisions with a view to creating a sustainable league in which the clubs play a decisive role. I also want to play an active role in the future in my position as president of the Women's Bundesliga FBL e.V., which is a great honour for me and also comes with a personal responsibility. I would like to thank the clubs for placing their trust and confidence in me and for their unity and solidarity, which will continue to be one of, if not the greatest strength of our league in the future."

Florian Zeutschler, 2nd vice-president of the Women's Bundesliga FBL e.V., said: "The founding of the Women's Bundesliga FBL e.V. is the result of constructive cooperation between all clubs over the past year and a half and a significant step towards offering professional women's football in all areas in Germany, while at the same time putting it on a stable commercial footing. It is our clear mission to master the balancing act between maximum professionalisation and the value of women's football and its identity. As a club, we have already taken a clear stance on the issues of promoting young talent and sustainable management in recent years and have celebrated considerable success in that regard. In future, we want to continue making our contribution in terms of quantity and quality, especially in the training of young talent. With this focus, we have recently been able to push our boundaries in a growing league and want to use this perspective to continue to make our mark in the future. The fact that we, with these values and as an all-women's football club, will have a place on the executive committee is an impressive statement for women's football and an expression of a process in which the interests of all clubs have been recognised and taken into account. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the other 13 clubs for this. The founding of the league association represents a turning point for us, which we very much wanted, but at the same time it is only the basis from which we want to and will create something much bigger."