Union Berlin president accuses Bundesliga rivals of not paying their women’s teams enough

BERLIN (AP) — Union Berlin president Dirk Zingler has criticized Bundesliga rivals of apathy toward women’s soccer.

“Every football club that has a professional team is capable of paying its women’s football team appropriately,” Zingler said on Monday in comments reported by dpa news agency.

“When I see and hear that, even in the (women’s) Bundesliga with 12 teams, there are only four or five who pay the women professionally, it’s a pitiful disgrace in Germany,” Zingler added on the day it was confirmed he will stay on for another term as president to 2029.

Union’s own women’s team was promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time this season after winning the second division. The Köpenick-based club has invested heavily in women’s soccer, particularly since its men’s team clinched promotion to the 18-team Bundesliga in 2019.

Zingler also criticized the media for not giving more attention to women’s games. He said it was “simply not right to treat women’s football as a disability sport and say we have to run special programs and play highlight games.”

Zingler has been Union’s president since 2004, when the men’s team was playing at fourth-tier level. He said stability has been key to the club’s success.

Union’s men reached the Europa Conference League in 2021, the Europa League the following season, and the Champions League in 2023, though that was followed by a brush with relegation. This season, the team clinched Bundesliga survival with four rounds to spare.

Away from the field, Union refurbished its stadium in 2009, added a new main stand in 2013, and established a new training center for youth players last year. This year it plans to start construction on new training facilities for its men’s and women’s professional teams then turn attention to more stadium development to accommodate more fans.

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