The Women’s Bundesliga’s playoff plans are sparking a lot of discussion. The rationale behind these considerations is the search for new ways to make the Women’s Bundesliga more attractive and to increase revenue from the sale of media rights.
Starting with the 2027–28 season, the top four teams could compete for the championship, first in a semifinal and then in a final.
For Bayern director Bianca Rech, however, this model is out of the question. “Playoffs devalue the league and the season that has just concluded. In our view, the attempt to boost the league’s appeal solely through knockout games at the end of the season falls short,” she told Sport BILD.
Wolfsburg is also against playoffs
Now Wolfsburg boss Dieter Hecking has also weighed in. In principle, Hecking is willing to consider changes and new approaches: “To significantly increase revenue from the sale of TV rights, we also need to think about creative, innovative approaches.”
Nevertheless, he considers the proposal to introduce playoffs to be misguided: “From our perspective, however, introducing playoffs is more of a counterproductive interference in the competition. The regular season loses its sporting value, and it’s possible that the best team of the season won’t win the championship. That can’t be in the best interest of the sport,” said the 61-year-old.
Playoffs are intended to add more variety
The call for reform is no coincidence. Bayern and Wolfsburg have dominated the Women’s Bundesliga in recent years. Over the past ten seasons, the two clubs have each won five championships.
The playoffs are intended to increase the excitement in the title race and potentially break the dominance of the top teams. At the same time, league officials are hoping for better bids when media rights are next up for auction.
Currently, TV contracts with ARD, ZDF, MagentaTV, DAZN, SPORT1, and Sky bring the clubs around 5.2 million euros per year. The next bidding round will cover only two seasons instead of the previous four.
Decision to be made in November
Whether the reform will actually go through is currently completely up in the air. Among the 14 Bundesliga clubs, there are both supporters and opponents. A close vote at the general meeting on November 30 therefore seems possible.
One thing is already clear: FC Bayern will not readily support the playoff plans. For Germany’s record champion, it is certain that any reform must not come at the expense of the Bundesliga’s sporting value or that of the players.