Women's premier league: "Room for improvement in terms of bonuses"
Officials from FC Bayern and Eintracht Frankfurt see a need to change the format at the start of their women's soccer team's group matches in the Champions League. "There is no question that the format needs to be adapted to the positive development. Many teams are investing in women's soccer and are aiming for the European stage," Munich's sporting director Bianca Rech told the German Press Agency. "In my view, more teams should be allowed to qualify directly for the group stage."
In addition to VfL Wolfsburg, who were eliminated by Paris FC and for whom missing out on the group stage is very bitter, top clubs such as Juventus Turin, Manchester United and Arsenal WCF are also no longer involved. The German champions from Munich take on AS Roma on Wednesday, while Frankfurt play at Swedish record champions FC Rosengard on Tuesday (both 6.45 p.m./DAZN and DAZN YouTube channel).
UEFA had announced a new era with the introduction of the group stage in 2021, with TV broadcasts, its own anthem and around €24 million in prize money. In addition, each participant in the group stage will receive at least 400,000 euros, five times more than before, for reaching the round of 16.
Nadine Kessler, Executive Director of Women's Football at UEFA, sees the premier league format, which will run for four years until 2025, as a model for success. However, she also speaks of a "revision process" for the time after that. A task force is working together with the clubs, leagues, national associations and the European Club Association (ECA). "Over 700,000 fans across Europe watched the matches and, with an average attendance of over 11,000, the UEFA Women's Champions League is the most-attended women's club competition in the world," said the former German international.
Eintracht Frankfurt manager Katharina Kiel sees "definite potential to increase the number of participants in the group stage". The 31-year-old also said: "In terms of bonuses, there is clearly still room for improvement so that they not only cover the costs of participation, but also give the clubs the opportunity to make investments." UEFA is paying out a total of €2.002 billion to the 32 men's teams this season.
FC Bayern Munich's women's soccer team will face AS Roma in the Champions League group stage, hoping to improve their performance in the competition. Despite the improved format and prize money introduced by UEFA in 2021, Eintracht Frankfurt's manager Katharina Kiel believes there is a need for further enhancement in bonuses, aiming to cover costs and facilitate investments. Notably, both FC Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt are part of the Champions League, representing Germany in this prestigious women's soccer tournament along with other European clubs like Juventus Turin, Manchester United, and Arsenal WCF.
Source: www.dpa.com
