Women's football in Germany is quickly become very popular in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 largely due to the success 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 German Football Association

German Football Association

The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...

 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, football boots with studs 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

TuS Wörrstadt

TuS Wörrstadt is a German women's football multi-sports club based in Wörrstadt, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club was founded in 1847 and is most famous for its women's football department which won the first national championship in 1974. Recently the team has been promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga....

.

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

Germany women's national football team

The German women's national football team represents Germany in international women's football and is directed by the German Football Association . The team – informally called West Germany in English – played its first international match in 1982...

 (coached by Gero Bisanz) played its first game on November 10, 1982 against Switzerland

Switzerland women's national football team

The Switzerland women's national football team represents Switzerland in international women's football.The team played its first match in 1972...

. 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

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 hosted the 1989 European Competition for Women's Football

1989 European Competition for Women's Football

The 1989 European Competition for Women's Football took place in West Germany. It was won by the hosts in a final against defending champions Norway...

. The German team beat the Italian

Italy women's national football team

The Italy women's national football team represents Italy in international women's football. The team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation .- Performances in the World Cup :...

 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

Norway women's national football team

The Norway women's national football team represents Norway in international women's football. The team, controlled by the Football Association of Norway, are former European, World and Olympic champions and thus one of the most successful national teams...

 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

1. FFC Frankfurt

1. FFC Frankfurt is a German women's association football club based in Frankfurt, Hesse and has a membership of about 430. The team currently plays in the German first division women's Bundesliga.- History :...

 defeat Umeå IK

Umeå IK

Umeå IK is a prominent women's association football club based in the city of Umeå, Sweden. The club was established in 1917 as a general sports club, and started competing in women's in 1985. In 1996 the team reached the premier division, the Damallsvenskan but was relegated the following year. In...

 3-2 in the UEFA Women's Cup

UEFA Women's Cup 2007-08

The UEFA Women's Cup 2007–08 was the seventh edition of the UEFA Women's Cup football club tournament . 45 teams from 44 football associations took part this season...

.

National competition

As a result of the national team's success in the 1989 European Competition, on 1990 the DFB founded the first women's Bundesliga

Fußball-Bundesliga (women)

The Women's Football Bundesliga is the main league competition for women's football in Germany. In 1990 the German Football Association created the German Women's Bundesliga, based on the model of the men's Bundesliga. It was first played with north and south divisions, but in 1997 the groups...

 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

Fußball-Regionalliga (women)

The five Regionalligas are the third-tier leagues in German women's football. In each division the champion will be promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga in the next season.- Mode :...

 compared to the Budesliga the DFB founded Second Bundesliga

2. Fußball-Bundesliga (women)

The 2nd Women's Football Bundesliga is the second league competition for women's football in Germany. It is divided into 2 groups of north and south...

 in 2004. The Second Bundesliga contained twenty-four teams divided into two groups.

National team

The Germany women's national football team, organised by the DFB, are the only women's team ever to have successfully defended the FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup

The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the...

, winning in 2003 under past coach Tina Theune-Meyer

Tina Theune-Meyer

Christina Theune is a graduate sports teacher, and the former national coach of the German women's national football team. After her marriage she bore the surname 'Theune-Meyer' until her divorce in 2008....

 and 2007 under current coach Silvia Neid

Silvia Neid

Silvia Neid is a former professional soccer player, and, since July 2005, has served as the head coach of the Germany women's national football team after having been assistant to Tina Theune-Meyer for some time...

. They have also won the last five UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Women's Championship

The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro and unofficially the "European Cup", held every fourth year, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA Confederation...

s (1995

1995 UEFA Women's Championship

The 1995 UEFA Women's Championship, also referred to as WOMEN'S EURO 1995 was a football tournament that happened between 1993 and 1995 . The final game was held in Germany. The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tournament involving European national teams from countries affiliated to UEFA,...

, 1997

1997 UEFA Women's Championship

The 1997 UEFA Women's Championship, also referred to as WOMEN'S EURO 1997 was a football tournament held in 1997 in Norway and Sweden. The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tournament involving European national teams from countries affiliated to UEFA, the European governing body, who have...

, 2001

2001 UEFA Women's Championship

2001 UEFA Women's Championship took place in Germany between June 23 and July 7 . It was won by Germany in the final against Sweden thanks to a golden goal....

, 2005

2005 UEFA Women's Championship

The 2005 UEFA Women's Championship, also referred to as WOMEN'S EURO 2005 , was a football tournament for women held from 5 June to 19 June 2005 in Lancashire, England. The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tournament involving European national teams from countries affiliated to UEFA, the...

, 2009

2009 UEFA Women's Championship

The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between August 23 and September 10, 2009. The host was appointed on July 11, 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over the Dutch proposal.The UEFA Women's Championship...

).