Twelve teams, all with one goal in mind: becoming Bundesliga champions - in women's soccer that is.

Last season's winner, Turbine Potsdam, are unlikely to have to fend off too many rivals, with Frankfurt seen as the only team that stands a realistic chance of snatching the trophy from them. But FCR Duisburg and VFL Wolfsburg may at least put up a good fight.

And that's precisely the problem with the top flight of German women's soccer: the league is too small and not balanced enough. Spectators are often few and far between and, if they come to the live matches, they're unlikely to be on the edge of their seats, unless they're watching the top four clubs in action.

Last season, the average number of fans watching a live match was 834. The Women's World Cup, staged in Germany this summer, has done little to change that. Seven-time champions Frankfurt managed to double their ticket sales, and Duisburg sold a few more season tickets but, on the whole, it's fair to say people will not be beating a path to their stadium doors.

Lack of TV presence

"Perhaps we'll get an extra couple of hundred spectators - we're not even thinking in the thousands here," said Steffi Jones, who helped organize the World Cup and will take over as director of women's football at Germany's Football Association (DFB).

"There will be a bit of a boost, I'm just not sure how long it will last," she added.

Frankfurt manager Siegfried Dietrich is hoping the World Cup effect will linger for a while, particularly since his club's opening match on Sunday will be shown on regional public television.

"We're expecting quite a few people for our first match against Essen-Schönbeck," said Dietrich, adding that he is hoping to fill 5,000 seats that day.

"Football fans now know our faces," Germany goalie Nadine Angerer explained. "It's great for them to see so many national team players in Frankfurt."

That said, unless clubs get more seats filled, women's football is unlikely to make a great splash on German television any time soon. Public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, who own the rights, have already ruled out showing more women's soccer, at least for now.

Structural change

"We have Frankfurt and Potsdam, and that's it in terms of major clubs," DFB President Theo Zwanziger, who's known for his support of women's football, said after the World Cup. His priorities, he said, are making women's Bundesliga clubs more professional and developing lasting structures to attract new talent.

At the moment, the prowess of FFC Frankfurt and Potsdam on the pitch is unlikely to make for a gripping fight for the trophy this season. Much to the chagrin of the DFB, which could really use a bit of drama to attract fans.

Even after legendary striker Birgit Prinz's retirement from league and national football, Frankfurt still has a plethora of national players to choose from, 13 in total, from six different countries. And an extra 200,000 euros ($286,300) in the kitty won't go amiss either.

"The squad is good enough to win everything," national team player Fatmire Bajramaj, who recently moved from Potsdam to Frankfurt, said about her new club's chances to get the triple, as they did in 2008.

But rival Potsdam have not been idle either - coach Bernd Schröder has brought in five new players, among them Swedish national player Antonia Göransson and Dutch national player Chantal de Ridder.

"Our squad has the right mix of personalities," Schröder said. "And we're just as good as last season," he added, with a beady eye on that Bundesliga trophy.

Authors: Arnulf Boettcher, Nicole Goebel (dpa, dapd, SID)
Editor: Susan Houlton