Union Berlin Women - The German Club Attracting Thousands

Fan-owned nine Union Berlin has an eager imagination - to alteration support for women's shot successful their country.

Since their women's squad went master successful nan 2023-24 season, they person earned back-to-back promotions and will make their debut successful nan Frauen-Bundesliga this year.

With an mean crowd of 7,000 successful nan 2nd tier past season, Union Berlin were nan fourth-best supported women's nine successful Europe.

Their effect has been instant and this play they travelled to England for nan first time, playing Aston Villa successful a 1-0 pre-season friends defeat.

"It's rather nan club. It's very family-orientated," head of women's shot Jennifer Zietz told BBC Sport.

"There are a batch of emotions for accepted soccer. We besides person very crazy supporters!"

So what makes them truthful unique?

The Alten Forsterei - nan club's 22,000-seater stadium - is "at nan bosom of nan club" according to Zeitz.

"It gives you a very unsocial experience," she added.

It is not conscionable immoderate stadium, it is simply a stadium that was built by its supporters.

Short of rate and pinch a crumbling stadium that was unfit for intent successful 2008, almost 2,500 fans spent much than 140,000 hours transforming nan Alten Forsterei into nan arena it is coming successful south-east Berlin.

The women's squad now play location excessively aft fans of Union Berlin were coming retired successful their thousands to support nan recently master side.

"It's why nan stadium is truthful important for nan fans because they helped to build it," said Zeitz.

"They make nary quality betwixt nan men and nan women. No matter who is playing, they support nan footballers connected nan pitch.

"The players play pinch their hearts and pinch intensity. These are nan things nan fans want to spot too."

When nan men's squad qualified for European shot successful 2022, money came into nan nine and nan fan-led committee made nan determination to salary its female players full-time contracts and salaries that were comparable to Germany's apical clubs.

Head coach Ailien Poese - a erstwhile Union Berlin player, whose grandad besides played for nan nine successful nan 1950s - arrived from nan German Football Association.

Zietz followed arsenic managing director, arsenic did a big of big-name signings from Germany.

Promotion to nan Frauen-Bundesliga was nan goal. In their first master year, they scored 145 goals and conceded five.

Last season, they secured promotion to nan apical tier pinch a 10–0 aggregate triumph complete SV Henstedt-Ulzburg successful nan promotion play-off last - attracting 20,000 fans.

"To salary a bully net is very important. We cognize this. I deliberation besides that we springiness them individual support," said Zietz.

"We tin thief players create successful our club, play pinch this ambiance and we show we are very ambitious.

"We want to beryllium playing successful nan Women's Champions League complete nan adjacent fewer years. The players spot this and they spot us."

Fans of nan club, known arsenic nan 'Unioner', person a saying: "We don't spell to football, we spell to Union Berlin."

Whether it's nan men's aliases nan women's team, they travel retired successful numbers to support nan club. A mini trading squad has helped thrust nan crowds, but it is yet down to nan club's civilization that their support for its women's squad is truthful big.

Over 4,000 play tickets person already sold for their debut run successful nan apical formation and location are plans to grow their stadium to a 40,000-capacity arena.

In a 3-1 friends conclusion by Real Madrid past week they had almost 10,000 supporters there, and a fistful flew complete from Berlin for their conclusion by Villa.

That support is thing new. When nan nine were adjacent to losing their licence owed to financial difficulties successful 2004, a fundraising run called "Bleed for Union" encouraged supporters to donate humor to Berlin hospitals and springiness nan compensation they received backmost to nan club. They virtually bled for Union Berlin.

"At nan crippled pinch Real Madrid, players were very excited to spot our fans. They were taking pictures," said Zeitz.

"That isn't normal successful Spain aliases Germany. It's really cool get we get these large crowds. We made women's shot astatine our nine bigger.

"We went retired and communicated. We said 'we person 2 master teams, not a men's squad and a women's team'.

"We showed everyone nan captains of some teams. We told everyone location is nary quality betwixt them."

Fans of Union Berlin travel 4 rules known to locals arsenic "the laws of booing" - don't boo your ain players, don't make scapegoats of your ain players, don't time off earlier nan last whistle and springiness everything.

The ambiance they create has been a cardinal negotiator erstwhile trying to motion caller players from Germany's elite clubs.

This summer, they signed erstwhile Eintracht Frankfurt skipper and Poland world Tanja Pawollek.

Paying nan players salaries which comparison to that of Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen intends they tin connection an elite situation to develop.

"At this moment, nan money comes successful from nan men's broadside but each nine tin determine wherever that money goes to and what section to usage it in," said Zeitz.

"We take to usage it to support women's football. It's not for illustration different clubs successful Germany. They opportunity they support women's shot but they don't do anything.

"We said astir it, past we did it. In nan future, we want to make it a business connected nan women's side. We want money to travel into nan women's squad and to usage it connected nan women's team.

"We want to support women's shot successful Germany. There are possibly 3 aliases 4 clubs successful Germany who support master women's football. The different clubs are not this ambitious. This, we person to alteration successful Germany."