Union Berlin's women target Champions League after promotion: They are now one of Europe's best supported teams

Can you name the biggest football club in Germany? Bayern Munich? Look at the attendances for the women’s Bundesliga this coming season and there could be another answer to that question. Union Berlin are changing the game.

The men's team captured the imagination with their astonishing run to the Champions League not so long ago, but this extraordinary club from the east is now setting attendance records in the women's game. And doing it in the second division.

A crowd of 20,132 supporters packed into the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in May to watch Union beat FSV Gutersloh 6-0 to confirm the title. It means that both the men's and women's team at Union will compete in the Bundesliga together for the first time.

Image: Dina Orschmann gets her hands on the trophy following their title win

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Some context on those attendance numbers. Union's average attendance of 7,190 across their promotion campaign was more than any top-tier women's team in the country. It was more than all but three teams in England's Women's Super League too.

The expectation is that attendances will significantly rise this season with 13,213 turning up for a pre-season game. Season ticket sales are already twice the average attendance in the Bundesliga. And the message is that they are just getting started.

"We want to cause a big surprise at Union," managing director of women's football Jennifer Zietz tells Sky Sports. "Within four years, we want to play in the Champions League and we want to win the title. It will be very tough but I think we have the reach to do it."

Image: Jennifer Zietz greets supporters at the pre-season friendly against Real Madrid

Speaking to Zietz at Aston Villa's training ground as part of the women's first pre-season tour overseas, she outlines some of the reasons why Union have been able to catapult themselves into the conversation as one of the biggest women's teams in Germany.

"There is one department at Union, professional soccer." The women feel as backed as the men. She highlights the support of president Dirk Zingler, the man who helped save the club over 20 years now, taking the men's team from the third tier to the top flight.

"He is very close to us," says Zietz. "He is involved in squad planning, knows which of our girls are injured and is interested in how pre-season is going. I have a call every two days. I think that is not normal but it is very important for us. It is the power of the club."

Image: Fans stand in front of the balcony cheering on Union Berlin after their triumph

The turning point was that Champions League qualification for the men, a significant financial boost for a club that was poverty stricken not so long ago. The supporter-led board were determined to make use of those funds to grow their women's team too.

It has brought rewards quickly. They turned professional in 2023, Ailien Poese having already taken on the role of head coach. A former player at the club whose grandfather had also represented Union, she has since guided them to back-to-back promotions.

Image: Ailien Poese has guided Union Berlin to back-to-back promotions

Plenty of elite clubs pay lip service to their support of their women's teams, few back it up as Union are doing. Most obviously, they play their games inside the same stadium, having agreed that the fixture list allows them to alternate weekends with the men.

For many supporters, the pilgrimage to the stadium that had once been a fortnightly habit has simply become a weekly one. Others have been drawn specifically to support the women, and thus growing the fan base as more are seduced by this special club.

Union is an institution in Köpenick, the area of Berlin they call home. Perhaps you have heard the stories. The fans who literally gave blood to raise funds. The thousands who helped rebuild the stadium. The annual Christmas carol concert is the stuff of legend.

Image: Union Berlin's Christmas carols are an annual tradition at the Stadion an der Alten Forsterei

"The fans are crazy," laughs Zietz. "They make no distinction between the women and men. It does not matter who is playing, this is their stadium, the heart of the club, a safe place where you can forget about your problems outside. It is a unique atmosphere."

She explains: "The fans have their own rules. If you are in the stadium, you have to support your team the whole game, every minute that they are playing. Put your phone away. And you are not allowed to leave until the team has left the pitch."

Image: A crowd of 20,132 Union Berlin supporters saw them beat FSV Gutersloh 6-0 in May

For Zietz personally, a one-club woman herself in her playing days, it fits with her own principles. "The things that the club is standing for are the same that things that I am standing for. I live this. I love football." And the team's style of play reflects this too.

"The players on the pitch play with a lot of power and intensity. You can feel that they are singing. It is not like they are clapping, they are singing. Every player feels it and if you speak to players from other teams, they feel it too. They are always impressed."

Image: Players from Union Berlin are inspired by the vocal support from the terraces

Impressed enough to sign? That is the next challenge for Union, trying to improve this team on the pitch to reflect the buzz off it. Salaries are competitive and they have acquired talent from home and abroad this summer, but are still getting knockbacks.

"We have made some big improvements but we have to take it step by step because there are not so many very good players on the market as in the men's game. There are a lot of very good teams and not so many very good players, so we have big competition.

"It is cool to work for a club with this support but it is not easy. We are still a promoted team and, internationally at least, players do not necessarily know all about Union Berlin. If you are at Bayern Munich or Eintracht Frankfurt, they know about those club.

"We have spoken to players from England, from the WSL, and they say, 'Yeah, you have this great atmosphere, this great project, and it is cool that you have this support from the club, but in England we don't just have one or two teams, we have a whole league.'"

It is why Zietz wants to grow the entire league as well as grow Union. "I think it's also important that we promote the women's soccer in Germany, like here in England," she says. But Union are the club taking the lead - and their plans for the future are grand.

Image: There are plans to expand the traditional Stadion an der Alten Forsterei

There are plans to increase the capacity of the Stadion An der Alten Försterei from a shade over 22,000 to house 40,500. As much as 33,000 will be standing, allowing Union Berlin to eclipse Borussia Dortmund in having the most terracing in the Bundesliga.

It is just part of the expansion plans at Union. "We are also building a training centre with the men, the same pitches, very close to the stadium," says Zietz. "My ambition was always to go to the first division. Now I want to go to the Champions League."

That would be particularly special because when the men qualified for the competition, their games were shifted to the Olympiastadion. In the future, that will not be necessary. "It would be very cool if we could have a Champions League game in our stadium."

And Union Berlin are still the coolest club around.

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