# Frauen-Bundesliga

The **Frauen-Bundesliga**, currently played as the Google Pixel Frauen-[Bundesliga](https://www.edgepedia.org/bundesliga) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of women's football in Germany, organized by the [German Football Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/german-football-association) (Deutscher Fußball-Bund, DFB) and contested by 14 professional and semi-professional clubs. Responsibility for running and marketing the league is scheduled to pass from the DFB to a club-led association, the Frauen-Bundesliga FBL e.V., on 1 July 2027.<sup>[1](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-dfb-und-fbl-ev-einigen-sich-auf-grundlagenvertrag)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Status | Highest women's football division in Germany, organized by the DFB until 30 June 2027<sup>[1](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-dfb-und-fbl-ev-einigen-sich-auf-grundlagenvertrag)</sup> |
| Teams | 14 clubs from the 2025/26 season, the league's 36th season, up from 12<sup>[2](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)</sup> |
| Season format | 26 matchdays, seven matches per matchday; the two bottom teams are relegated<sup>[2](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)</sup> |
| Name sponsor | Google has been the league's partner since the 2023/24 season<sup>[3](https://www.dfb.de/en/women/womens-bundesliga)</sup> |
| Governance change | FBL e.V. takes over organization, operation, and marketing on 1 July 2027 under contracts running to 30 June 2034<sup>[4](https://www.dfb.de/news/ausserordentlicher-dfb-bundestag-bestaetigt-grundlagenvertrag-und-pachtvertrag-mit-fbl-ev)</sup> |
| Financial flows | DFB GmbH & Co. KG pays FBL e.V. €1.4 million per year; FBL pays 3% of media revenue as lease plus 1% for training compensation<sup>[4](https://www.dfb.de/news/ausserordentlicher-dfb-bundestag-bestaetigt-grundlagenvertrag-und-pachtvertrag-mit-fbl-ev)</sup> |
| Broadcasting | All matches live on MagentaSport and DAZN; Monday match on Sport1; ARD and ZDF hold rights to ten free-to-air live matches per season<sup>[2](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)</sup> |

## History

The German women's championship was first decided in the 1973/74 season, at that time in tournament form; a home-and-away league format followed. A two-tier national league divided into North and South groups was introduced in the 1990/91 season, and in 1997/98 the Frauen-Bundesliga became a single nationwide division.<sup>[3](https://www.dfb.de/en/women/womens-bundesliga)</sup> Since the 2023/24 season the league has operated under the name Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga through a partnership with Google.<sup>[3](https://www.dfb.de/en/women/womens-bundesliga)</sup>

## Competition format

The league was expanded from 12 to 14 teams for the 2025/26 season, its 36th season. The larger field produces 26 matchdays per season instead of 22, with seven matches per matchday instead of six. The additional match is generally scheduled for Sunday at 16:00, with limited flexibility to move it in exceptional cases.<sup>[2](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)</sup>

**Regular matchday.** The matchday format fixed in the media rights agreements provides one match on Friday evening (18:30), two each on Saturday (12:00 and 14:00) and Sunday (14:00 and 18:30), and a Monday match (usually from 18:00), plus the new Sunday 16:00 fixture.<sup>[2](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)</sup> In seasons with a summer tournament the start is later; because no major tournament took place in summer 2026, the 2026/27 season began earlier and contains no midweek "English weeks".<sup>[5](https://assets.dfb.de/uploads/000/328/648/original_OM_01_2026_Final.pdf?1769772369=)</sup>

**Promotion and relegation.** The two last-placed teams are relegated to the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga, and the two best-placed teams of that second division are promoted. Reserve teams (Zweitvertretungen) are not eligible for promotion; if one occupies a promotion place, the next eligible team moves up.<sup>[2](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)</sup> The complete promotion and relegation regulations for the women's national leagues are set out in the DFB Match Regulations (§§ 47, 47a, 48, 48a).<sup>[3](https://www.dfb.de/en/women/womens-bundesliga)</sup>

**International qualification.** European places are set each season from the UEFA entry list. For 2026/27, the champion enters the league phase of the [UEFA Women's Champions League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-womens-champions-league) directly; the runner-up enters the third qualifying round, and the third-placed team enters a second qualifying round played as a four-team mini-tournament, with fallback routes into the [UEFA Women's Europa Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-womens-europa-cup) for teams that do not advance.<sup>[2](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)</sup>

## Broadcasting

All matches of the league are shown live on MagentaSport and DAZN. The Monday match is broadcast on free TV by Sport1, and ARD and ZDF have acquired rights to ten free-to-air live matches per season. All providers except Sport1 show highlights of every match after the matchday.<sup>[2](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)</sup> A "Pixel Cam" feature at ten selected matches per season offers television perspectives from the fan block, behind the goal, and the substitutes' bench.<sup>[2](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)</sup>

## Spin-out from the DFB

The 14 clubs sought to spin the league out of the DFB into an independent league association, on a model similar to the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) that runs the men's Bundesliga. On 31 May 2026 the DFB and the FBL e.V. agreed a foundational contract (Grundlagenvertrag) regulating the legal, organizational, and financial relationship, with the league leased for an initial seven years.<sup>[1](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-dfb-und-fbl-ev-einigen-sich-auf-grundlagenvertrag)</sup> The clubs approved the contract at the FBL general meeting on 30 June 2026.<sup>[6](https://www.sportschau.de/fussball/frauen-bundesliga/frauen-bundesligisten-stimmen-grundlagenvertrag-mit-dfb-zu%2Cfrauen-bundesliga-grundlagenvertrag-100.html)</sup> An extraordinary DFB congress confirmed the contracts unanimously on 18 September 2026.<sup>[4](https://www.dfb.de/news/ausserordentlicher-dfb-bundestag-bestaetigt-grundlagenvertrag-und-pachtvertrag-mit-fbl-ev)</sup>

The 2026/27 season is a transitional season, the last organized by the DFB; from 1 July 2027 the FBL e.V. takes over responsibility for staging, operating, and marketing the league under agreements running from that date to 30 June 2034. Unlike the men's structure, the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga remains under the DFB umbrella.<sup>[4](https://www.dfb.de/news/ausserordentlicher-dfb-bundestag-bestaetigt-grundlagenvertrag-und-pachtvertrag-mit-fbl-ev)</sup>

**Financial terms.** The DFB GmbH & Co. KG pays the FBL e.V. €1.4 million annually for the release of players to the women's and girls' national teams and participation in national team marketing, rising by €200,000 in years with a women's European or World Championship, and the FBL receives 50 percent of any economic surplus from the women's national team's final tournaments. The DFB guarantees at least €100,000 per year per certified performance center in women's and girls' football, plus €500,000 annually for targeted support of young players through deployment in the Frauen-Bundesliga.<sup>[4](https://www.dfb.de/news/ausserordentlicher-dfb-bundestag-bestaetigt-grundlagenvertrag-und-pachtvertrag-mit-fbl-ev)</sup>

**Solidarity with amateur football.** The FBL e.V. pays a lease of 3 percent of media revenue, provides 1 percent of media revenue as training compensation to developing clubs, and from the 2030/31 season pays levies of 1.5 percent to the regional and state associations, alongside economic support for the DFB's Master Plan Amateure.<sup>[4](https://www.dfb.de/news/ausserordentlicher-dfb-bundestag-bestaetigt-grundlagenvertrag-und-pachtvertrag-mit-fbl-ev)</sup> Refereeing costs are in principle borne entirely by the league's clubs, with the DFB GmbH & Co. KG co-financing them on a declining scale during the contract period to support the professionalization of women's refereeing.<sup>[4](https://www.dfb.de/news/ausserordentlicher-dfb-bundestag-bestaetigt-grundlagenvertrag-und-pachtvertrag-mit-fbl-ev)</sup> The DFB has also announced an investment package of around €100 million for women's football from grassroots to elite level.<sup>[4](https://www.dfb.de/news/ausserordentlicher-dfb-bundestag-bestaetigt-grundlagenvertrag-und-pachtvertrag-mit-fbl-ev)</sup>

## Licensing and staffing standards

The DFB admission procedure for the 2025/26 season tightened requirements reflecting the professionalization of club staff: from that season, clubs in the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga must employ their assistant and goalkeeping coaches and athletic trainers on a full-time, permanent basis.<sup>[7](https://www.dfb.de/news/anpassungen-im-zulassungsverfahren-der-google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-und-2-frauen-bundesliga)</sup>

## References

1. [Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga: DFB und FBL e.V. einigen sich auf Grundlagenvertrag, DFB (31.05.2026)](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-dfb-und-fbl-ev-einigen-sich-auf-grundlagenvertrag)
2. [Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga: Was ändert sich ab der Saison 2025/2026?, DFB (06.09.2025)](https://www.dfb.de/news/google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-was-aendert-sich-ab-der-saison-2025/2026)
3. [Women's first German division Bundesliga, DFB](https://www.dfb.de/en/women/womens-bundesliga)
4. [Außerordentlicher Bundestag bestätigt Grundlagenvertrag und Pachtvertrag mit FBL e.V., DFB (18.09.2026)](https://www.dfb.de/news/ausserordentlicher-dfb-bundestag-bestaetigt-grundlagenvertrag-und-pachtvertrag-mit-fbl-ev)
5. [Offizielle Mitteilungen des DFB, Ausgabe 01/2026 (Rahmenspielplan 2026/27)](https://assets.dfb.de/uploads/000/328/648/original_OM_01_2026_Final.pdf?1769772369=)
6. [Frauen-Bundesligisten stimmen Grundlagenvertrag mit DFB zu, sportschau.de (30.06.2026)](https://www.sportschau.de/fussball/frauen-bundesliga/frauen-bundesligisten-stimmen-grundlagenvertrag-mit-dfb-zu%2Cfrauen-bundesliga-grundlagenvertrag-100.html)
7. [Anpassungen im Zulassungsverfahren der Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga und 2. Frauen-Bundesliga, DFB](https://www.dfb.de/news/anpassungen-im-zulassungsverfahren-der-google-pixel-frauen-bundesliga-und-2-frauen-bundesliga)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events › Domestic leagues and league seasons › Women's domestic leagues › Frauen-Bundesliga (Germany)*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license