With convincing performances last season, 1. FC Union Berlin has earned its fourth promotion to the 2nd Women’s Bundesliga. But instead of being relegated again in the next season like last time, the bar has now been raised. One year after the decision to professionalize the women’s division, the Berlin club is aiming even higher.
After the Irons were one of the first clubs in the GDR to have a women’s football department from 1969 to 1971, which then had to be closed due to the separation of women’s football from the popular sports area of the GDR Football Association, the second attempt followed in 1990. Since then, the first team has played mainly in the Regionalliga Ost and later Nordost.
In the past, promotion to the second division has been achieved three times. The first time this feat was achieved was in the 2006/07 season, three years after the 2nd Women’s Bundesliga was introduced. Back then, the decision was made on the last match day when Union won a direct duel against Magdeburger FFC. After being relegated two years later, there were two more attempts to get into the second division in the following years, but both times the Köpenickers only stayed in the race for one season.
An important step in the club’s development occurred in the summer of 2023, when the club announced the professionalization of its women’s team. This includes, among other things, paying salaries so that those involved can make a living through football and expanding the coaching team and medical department.
The decision to play some highlight games in the stadium at the Alte Försterei also attracted attention and, above all, increased visibility for the team. For example, the derby against Hertha BSC in April was played in the 22,000-seat stadium. In the promotion match, 18,045 spectators watched the match on site. It has already been announced that all games will take place in the large stadium next season.
In addition, the management structures of the men’s and women’s departments have been synchronized from July 1, 2024 and will in future belong together to the football division. This also included the appointment of Jennifer Zietz as managing director of the Union women. When she took office, the 40-year-old former professional player from Turbine Potsdam spoke of the great potential she sees in the club. “Being able to call this stadium our sporting home is another very important step towards ensuring that women’s professional football is part of 1. FC Union Berlin’s sporting identity,” said Zietz.
Last season, Union Berlin was in first place in the Regionalliga Nordost after the last matchday with 66 points – nine points ahead of rival FC Viktoria Berlin. At the same time, the team recorded a goal difference of an incredible 140 (!) goals. The biggest contributor to this was striker Sarah Abbu Sabbah, who scored a total of 42 goals. This meant that the championship was already decided two matchdays before the end of the season.
These performances put head coach Ailien Poese’s team in the qualifying round for promotion to the second division. Here, Union faced SV Henstedt-Ulzburg from the Regionalliga Nord. The preliminary decision had already been made in the first leg with a clear 8-0 win, in which Sarah Abu Sabbah scored a hat trick. The return leg, which ended 2-0, was then just a formality – the dreams of promotion have become reality.
The overarching goal for next season is clear: to stay in the league. Only when the team has successfully integrated itself into the second tier of women’s football can even more ambitious plans be tackled. This should be achieved with a mixture of old and new, i.e. key players who are already under contract with Union, plus newcomers who can be lured to Berlin by the team’s recent performances and developments.
It has already been decided that Union will play all of its second division home games next season at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. This sends a clear signal that the club is behind the positive development of its women’s team and is also inviting more spectators to support the team or to find a liking for it in the first place.
In addition, there was already an initial transfer offensive before the start of the season after the announcement of a total of five departures, starting with the coup involving Antonia Halverkamps. The 23-year-old midfielder is moving from first division relegated team MSV Duisburg to the capital. With a total of 92 appearances in the top German league, Halverkamps brings a lot of experience to the promoted team and is expected to bring skills such as her ability to use both feet, her shooting power and her aggressiveness to the Köpenick team’s game.
There is also more Bundesliga experience with defender Judith Steinert from SC Freiburg, goalkeeper Cara Bösl, who comes from Frankfurt, and Fatma Sakar, who Union signed from RB Leipzig at the beginning of 2024. The 25-year-old Turkish international fit in immediately and contributed two goals in nine appearances in the second half of the season. Meanwhile, Steinert and Bösl are set to become the main players in the Köpenick defense.
The second league, however, is only intended to be a stopover on the way to the big goal. The club is moving forward with the clear intention of making the leap to the first division in the coming years. This step could be made easier by the recently announced expansion of the women’s Bundesliga, which will also have an impact on the lower leagues. “We have just been promoted to the second league undefeated. The first league is our goal. And the expansion has brought us even closer to that,” says managing director Zietz.
Before the new season of the 2nd Women’s Bundesliga begins on August 24th, Union Berlin still has some time to get in the mood for the new adventure. The preparations include duels against the second team of VfL Wolfsburg and against the two first division teams Werder Bremen and SGS Essen. A short time later it will become clear whether the Iron Ones will succeed in asserting themselves in the second division and perhaps even aim for even higher goals afterwards.
