News (engl.)

This year's DFB Women's Week ended on Monday, 18 May 2026. It was the fourth of its kind, focussing on women in football, from the grassroots to the top. Approved by the DFB Presidential Board in 2021 and premiered in 2022, the programme incorporates a string of measures aimed at achieving four basic objectives:

• more international titles,
• more active female players, coaches, and referees,
• increased visibility, and
• a greater number of women in the game.

Taking interim stock on DFB.de, DFB Vice-President Heike Ullrich talks about the Women's Week, gives an update on what's new in the area of Strategy FF27, which she says is going to be continued. For the latest FF27-related facts and figures, click here.

DFB.de: Now that the fourth Women's Week has ended, can you tell us what it was all about?

Heike Ullrich: Over the last few days, it was impressive once again to experience the sheer diversity of girls' and women's football, and how women in football from the grassroots to the top can succeed. The Women's Week is a great collective effort that makes the role played, as well as the contributions made, by women visible. I am particularly happy about the comprehensive approach adopted to implement the initiatives, which sends a powerful signal to the system of football in its entirety, from the bottom to the top, on and off the pitch, for both men's and women's football.

DFB.de: The Women's Week is one of the key "ingredients" of FF27, the DFB's strategy for girls' and women's football. What kind of message does this send?

Ullrich: That obviously, it was one of many good ideas we were tossing around when planning FF27! Now in its fourth edition, it has gone from strength to strength, registering increases in terms of visibility, reach, participating clubs, partners, and sub-regional FAs keen to benefit from the opportunity to not only initiate new measures, but also highlight already existing programmes that they offer throughout the year. Over the next few weeks, we will conduct a thorough analysis that will surely provide us with a set of robust facts and figures that help us to plan for next year's event.

DFB.de: You have already mentioned the DFB's FF27 Strategy. What can you say about its impact, four years after it was approved and launched?

Ullrich: I think one of the key learnings is that FF27 is not just about meeting targets or even surpassing certain OKRs. We have a social mission we want to fulfil – making football an attractive proposition for girls and women, awakening their enthusiasm for the game, as well as lowering the threshold and removing whatever obstacle there may be for them to take up playing football. At every level, both on and off the pitch. Back in 2022 we didn't have any clear and comprehensive strategy, there was no red thread to follow. But those days are over, and the figures are very encouraging, showing that we have achieved many of the targets we had set ourselves. There are even a few areas where we have out-performed our own expectations in a way we had not dared dream of.

DFB.de: Can you say where?

Ullrich: As regards FF27, we differentiate between four concrete, hands-on objectives: more international titles, more active female players, coaches, and referees, increased visibility, and generally a higher number of women in the game. Well, as far as more female players, coaches, referees and increased visibility are concerned, we have achieved much more than we had dared imagine. Another target is for us to return to the top internationally, both in club football and with our national teams.

DFB.de: So, it was all the more satisfying that last Sunday, the German Under-17s won the UEFA European Under-17 Championship title.

Ullrich: Oh yes, I watched the final from the stands in Belfast and was impressed with the girls' passion and team spirit. Fantastic! We were overjoyed that after a few years of "title drought", we managed to win a trophy that shows we're still there with the best of them. Over the past few years, some matches were really tight and with a bit of luck, we might have clinched a title or two earlier. But like I said: Germany is definitely competitive at international level.

DFB.de: So where would you say does German women's football stand in terms of successes and trophies?

Ullrich: Well, we've got to differentiate between the senior national team, the junior national teams, and the Bundesliga clubs involved in the UEFA club competitions. The Under-17's win in the final has given us a lot of joy; however, and truth be told, we haven't won any major titles lately. Nevertheless, I still think we're among the top five teams globally, given that the senior team were runners-up at EURO 2022 in England, and that the team gave everything it got at WEURO 2025 in Switzerland, despite going through a transformation, with many experienced players having retired and young players being thrown in at the deep end. In the 2024 Women's Nations League, Germany came third, and we finished runners-up in 2025. And let's not forget the Olympic bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris plus the Under-17s' title just a few days ago. The important thing is for Germany to keep qualifying for the final rounds, both at senior and junior level.

DFB.de: And what can you say about the state of German women's club football?

Ullrich: A few years ago, people took it for granted that a German team would reach the UEFA Champions League final. Well, no longer so. And yet, this year wasn't all gloom and doom! VfL Wolfsburg reached the quarter-final, FC Bayern Munich went through to the semis, and so did Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa Cup. That's a good foundation to build on. However, we've got to recognize that women's football is making great strides not just in Germany, but all across Europe. Which, actually, is a good thing!

DFB.de: The second objective on the list was to recruit more active players, coaches, and referees…

Ullrich: … which we have done in very encouraging fashion. We've registered two-digit percentage increases in all of these fields. As to the number of teams, we have finally recovered from the Covid crises, with currently 10,000 teams across all competitions, compared to just 8,400 prior to the start of the campaign.

DFB.de: What do you think was the key to success?

Ullrich: We've launched many programmes that actually worked! For example, we have managed to remove many of the obstacles that previously kept youngsters from taking up playing football. The same low-threshold approach was applied to budding coaches, helping them to obtain their badges by offering them alternative routes. We directly contact potential candidates that we feel have a coaching gene, rather than wait and see whether this or that player decides to become a coach herself. The same applies to referees. Just last year was dubbed "The Year of the Ref", and we took the initiative by asking women whether they can imagine themselves assuming responsibility and officiating games. It was hugely encouraging to see how many of them answered that call, with a 78 percent increase in numbers over 2022.

DFB.de: What about objective no. 3 – "more visibility"?

Ullrich: We have changed the way we communicate, with social media playing a key role in spreading our messages. Obviously, it helps that the players themselves are keen social media users who love to portray their respective clubs, the national team etc. Add to this that all matches of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga are broadcast live, and that coverage of the DFB Cup now begins in earlier stages than before.

DFB.de: Objective no. 4 is "more women in football" – how is that coming on?

Ullrich: Let's say that it's hard to achieve this in the short term. And we must differentiate between the areas that we can exert direct influence on, and those structures where that's not possible. There are a lot of different factors and stakeholders involved. Generally speaking, we stand by our self-given aim of achieving a minimum of 30 percent share of women in bodies and committees. There's still quite a long way to go, though. As far as the DFB structures are concerned, all we've achieved is a mere 20 percent share, but that's mainly due to regulations requiring that our sub-regional and regional FAs need to be represented proportionally. So I'm afraid we're stagnating a bit in that department. When it comes to committees where geographical representation is less important than know-how and experience, we've raised the share of female members to currently 25 percent. But we're hanging in there! Our aim is for more female leaders to be developed and promoted, both in volunteering and in terms of full-time staff.

DFB.de: To conclude, let's try and look into the future. The initiative has been dubbed Fast Forward 27 for a reason. But how will things go on beyond 2027?

Ullrich: Back in 2022, it was a deliberate decision for the strategic horizon to only encompass five years. Also, at the time we were hoping to be chosen, together with Belgium and The Netherlands, to host the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, which regrettably was not to be. But the encouraging thing is that the initiative has worked – and continues working – nevertheless. And to answer your question: of course is Fast Forward going to be continued. Just look at the hugely positive impact it has had so far. So, the clear message is that FF27 will go on!

DFB.de: What synergies do you think can be activated in connection with WEURO 2029 taking place in Germany?

Ullrich: We are of course delighted to have been chosen to host the tournament – a wonderful opportunity and a major challenge that we readily embrace. Because we're convinced that the Women's European Championship will provide a tremendous boost to all of the FF27 objectives. Not only are we aiming to host a fantastic event in 2029, but we're also going all in to use the time leading up to the tournament by strengthening girls' and women's football in a sustainable way and wherever possible, using the international magnetism of WEURO 2029.

DFB.de: In how far can WEURO 29 benefit the FF27 strategy?

Ullrich: One of the central components of our bid is a Legacy Programme that in many ways aligns with the UEFA UNSTOPPABLE strategy. It features numerous and very concrete measures, especially geared to the grassroots and designed to use the positive effects of the tournament to the full. Which means that it'll not just be about filling seats in stadiums and organising a big party. Even way before the event, we want to attract as many girls and women to football, be it on the pitch, as volunteers, or in full-time positions on all levels. We want to create an enthusiastic atmosphere for fans who stay fans even long after the final whistle. And I'm confident we can do that.