The clubs are sending out a clear signal on the subject of sustainability. As the first big professional football leagues, the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 are including sustainability criteria into their licensing regulations on obligatory basis next season. In addition, the commitment to seeking to act in an economically prudent, ecological and socially sustainable manner is being incorporated in the DFL e.V. constitution.
The specific content will be finalised in the coming months and will be based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations, the assessment of external experts, cooperation with the DFL working party on sustainability as well as the club working party on responsibility.
Implementation will initially start with a pilot stage in the 2022/23 season where the clubs will receive an overview of the relevant status quo as well as their potential. That will be followed by a transition period where necessary subsequent developments can be implemented. 2023/24 will see the implementation with the appropriate requirements and sanctions in the event of non-fulfilment of criteria. At the same time, the economic and structural conditions of each individual club are to be taken into account.
In addition to sustainability, further aspects of the licensing regulations have been set. That includes the parameters for the licensing procedure for the coming season. The only difference from last season is that affected clubs can again be subject to capital and/or planning quality constraints. Capital constraints will be applied according to existing financial constraints in a modified form due to the pandemic: Negative equity must not immediately be improved but it must not allow to become significantly worse.
Furthermore, annual emergency training for medical personnel in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 will be obligatory in the future. The content of the courses will include for example life-saving measures in the event of cardiac arrest including the use of a defibrillator, the identification and treatment of acute head injuries such as concussion such as emergency treatment of spinal injuries.
From the 2022/23 season, the licensing regulations will also include for the first time binding provisions for club-fan dialogue. This includes forthwith the obligation that all subjects are covered that directly or indirectly affect fan groups and that the people represented in the club-fan dialogue reflect the diversity of fans at the ground. The DFL fan affairs department will produce guidelines for explanation and clarification of the dialogue regulations in the coming months.
The club is also show their commitment to the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL): The VBL should join the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 as an additional competition in the DFL statutes to continue to develop professionalisation and establishment of the E football competition. That was decided by the assembly on principle. In the next step, the DFL will prepare a concrete resolution to be voted on at the next Members Assembly.
Finally, Hans-Joachim Watzke, CEO at Borussia Dortmund, was elected as the chair of the supervisory board of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH and first deputy speaker of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH e.V. steering committee. He will replace Peter Peters on 11 March 2022, who has been on the supervisory board of the DFL since 2004, and took over as chair of the committee following the resignation of Reinhard Rauball in 2019.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss at VfL Wolfsburg on the 20th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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After full time in the 1-1 draw against FC Bayern Munich, the Bayer 04 fans first had to catch their breath. Firstly because of their usual loud support, and secondly because of the great drama they'd witnessed on the pitch: three disallowed goals, two red cards and a Werkself side who "again produced a very good performance against strong opponents", as head coach Kasper Hjulmand described. The Dane was particularly enthused by the performance of young Montrell Culbreath, while Patrik Schick got to enjoy his 200th appearance under the Cross. The Werkself Review unpacks the action.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against FC Bayern Munich on Matchday 26 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Bayern Munich in an eventful Matchday 26 fixture in the Bundesliga. Aleix Garcia had given the Werkself the lead inside six minutes, but Bayern levelled in the second half through Luis Diaz, despite Nicolas Jackson having been send off before the break. Diaz was then dismissed himself as Leverkusen pushed for a winner, which failed to materialise as Jonas Hofmann saw a late goal ruled out.
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