Country Germany Founded 1990 Level on pyramid 1 | Confederation UEFA Number of teams 12 Relegation to 2. Bundesliga | |
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The Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga (English: Women Bundesliga) is the main league competition for women's association football in Germany. In 1990 the German Football Association (DFB) 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 were merged to form a uniform league. The league currently consists of twelve teams and the seasons usually last from late summer to the end of spring with a break in the winter.
Contents
In the UEFA Women's Champions League, the Frauen-Bundesliga is the most successful league with a total of nine titles from four clubs, with 1. FFC Frankfurt winning the most titles of any club.
Format
In the Bundesliga are twelve teams. At the end of a season the clubs finishing 11th and 12th are replaced with the winners of the two 2. Bundesliga divisions. A Bundesliga season consists of two rounds with 22 games combined. In a round every club plays against each other, having a home game against a specific club in one round and an away game in the other. The seasons typically start in August or September, with the first round finishing in December. The second round typically starts in February and ends in May or June, though sometimes the first games of the second round are held in December. Also due to the interference of World Cups the league might in certain years be suspended for a month.
The team in the 1st spot after the 22nd (last) day of play is the champion, gaining the title of Deutscher Meister. The champion as well as the second-place finisher qualifies for the UEFA Women's Champions League. As the winner of the UEFA Women's Champions League is automatically qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League in the next year, in 2009–10 the Bundesliga had three teams in the Champions League.
The Bundesliga ranking is determined by points a club has gained during a season. A win is worth 3 points, a draw 1, and a loss 0. The tiebreakers are in descending order goal difference, goals for, and head-to-head results. If the tie cannot be broken a tiebreaking game is held.
Past winners
For German football champions prior to the Bundesliga see the List of German women's football champions.
Winners by team
1 Two runners-up finishes as SG Praunheim. 2 One runners-up finishes as FC Rumeln-Kaldenhausen.