VfL Women will be facing three newly-promoted teams next season
With the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga being expanded, the She-Wolves will be facing no fewer than three new teams this coming season.
1. FC Union Berlin
The team from the German capital only made it up into Bundesliga 2 from the Regionalliga Nordost ahead of the 2023/24 season, and they made it back-to-back promotions up into the top flight last time out, with head coach Ailien Poese’s charges winning the league with 62 points. Union were consistently strong throughout the year, not least captain Lisa Heiseler, who notched no fewer than 22 goals. They also played the 2024/25 season at the Stadion an der Alten Försterei – the same venue as their male counterparts – and got average gates of around 7,000. CEO Jennifer Zietz is cutting an ambitious figure ahead of the club’s Women’s Bundesliga debut, saying in an interview with the newspaper Bild: “It’s a big step up from the second division to the first, particularly in sporting terms. Our aim is to get our feet under the table and look to finish in mid-table if we can… I’ve seen our men play in the Champions League and got to experience that myself as a player. I’d love to hear that anthem ring out for a women’s match at the Alten Försterei.”
These lofty ambitions are reflected in Union’s transfer policy, with the club picking up Eintracht Frankfurt duo Anna Aehling and Tanja Pawollek. The She-Wolves and their fans will get their first look at Union on Sunday 10 August when the teams face off at 16:00 CEST in a friendly at the AOK Stadion. That clash will also enable the Green-and-Whites to say hello to two old friends and former coaches: Sabrina Eckhoff, who was assistant to Tommy Stroot and then took over the reins after he left, and goalkeeping coach Alisa Vetterlein are now part of the Union staff.
Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV are back at the top table after a 13-year absence. The team from the north of Germany only just made it, however, finishing third in Bundesliga 2 and making the jump courtesy of the expansion of the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. The She-Wolves will have a northern derby and a trip to Hamburg to look forward to as early as Matchday 1 of the 2025/26 season. The match on Sunday 7 September (kick-off: 16:00 CEST), will be played at HSV Women’s new home – the impressive Volksparkstadion, which played host last season to the DFB Cup semi-final against SV Werder Bremen, with an incredible 57,000 fans in attendance.
Marwin Bolz steered HSV Women to promotion last time out, but the club has gone for a new face at the helm for the 2025/26 season, namely Liese Brancao. The Brazilian was both a player and a coach for many years in Austria, winning plenty of silverware at SKN St. Pölten. She has brought with her goalkeeper Laura Sieger, strikers Melanie Brunnthaler and Sophie Hillebrand and midfielder Maria Mikolajova from St. Pölten, while Nina Rücke and Michela Croatto have joined HSV Women from Leipzig. Brancao’s coaching staff includes former Wolfsburger Gerhard Waldhart, who was an analyst for the She-Wolves as recently as last season. The short-term goal for the newly-promoted side from the banks of the Elbe will be to avoid relegation, and then look to build on that. “We want to create a few surprises and we need everyone to be prepared to give it their absolute all,” said Brancao to NDR recently.
1. FC Nürnberg
After suffering relegation to Bundesliga 2 in the summer of 2024, Nürnberg bounced straight back in impressive fashion, ending what was a very strong campaign equal on points with 1. FC Union Berlin and just missing out on the title on goal difference. The club has stuck with head coach Thomas Oostendorp, who was appointed back in summer 2023. FCN are also targeting safety first and foremost, and will be relying on young players with development potential, as sporting director Osman Cankaya explained recently on the ‘Ka Depp – Der Club-Podcast’. In terms of transfers, Nürnberg have picked up goalkeepers Larissa Rusek and Lourdes Romero from Austria, Luxembourg captain Laura Miller and France U-20 international Maelle Seguin.
The club does not have the same financial clout as their rivals from Hamburg and Berlin, but they too will get to play their home games in a big stadium, namely the Max-Morlock-Stadion. They are kicking their 2025/26 campaign off away from home on 7 September, and in a twist of fate, the fixture computer has pitted them against 1. FC Union Berlin.
