Women's football in Germany

Women's football in Germany is quickly become very popular in Germany largely due to the sucess of the women's national team.

History

Women in Germany have been playing football since the turn of the 20th century, but females playing sports were frowned upon by the general population. The "Sports Girl" didn't come into fashion until the 1920s when women started to form their own clubs. In 1955 the DFB declared that they would not permit women into the association stating that women were frail and unable to perform in the sport without injurying themselves. During the 1960s there was discussion about setting up a Woman's Football Association, but it never panned out.

The DFB finally officially allowed women players on October 30, 1970, but there were modifications to the rules. First, women were only allowed to play in warm weather. Secondly, cleated shoes were banned and the ball was smaller and lighter. Lastly, the length of a match was reduced to seventy minutes.

In 1971 a woman's league formed with many other leagues forming during the following years. On September 8, 1974 the first women's champion in football was awarded to TuS Wörrstadt.

The first women's DFB Cup was held in 1981 with SSG 09 Bergisch Gladbach defeating TuS Wörrstadt 5-0 in the final match in front of 35,000 spectators.

The women's national team (coached by Gero Bisanz) played its first game on November 10, 1982 against Switzerland. Germany won the match 5-1. Two players who scored in the game would eventually become coaches for the national team.

In 1989 West Germany hosted the 1989 European Competition for Women's Football. The German team beat the Italian team on a penalty shoot-off. This was the first woman's football game broadcasted live in Germany. On July 2, 1989 the German team beat the favored Norway team 4-1 in front of 23,000 spectators. This was an attendece record for a German women's team that would last until May 24, 2008 when 27,460 spectators watched 1. FFC Frankfurt defeat Umeå IK 3-2 in the UEFA Women's Cup.

As a result of the national team's success in the 1989 European Competition, on 1990 the DFB founded the first women's Bundesliga with twenty teams divided into two groups, a Northern Conference and a Southern Conference. The Bundesliga was reduced to a single league of twelve teams in 1997, Yet, with the growing strength of Regionalliga compared to the Budesliga the DFB founded Second Bundesliga in 2004. The Second Bundesliga contained twenty-four teams divided into two groups.

National team

The German women's national football team, organised by the DFB, are the two-time defending world champions, having won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003 under past coach Tina Theune-Meyer and 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup under current coach Silvia Neid. They are the first women's team to have successfully defended a World Cup. They have also won the last four UEFA Women's Championships (1995, 1997, 2001, 2005).

ee also

* Football in Germany