It’s derby time in German football as Viktoria Berlin will face their city rivals Hertha BSC for the first time in the 2. Bundesliga on Sunday afternoon. This derby promises to be an interesting one as the club on top of the table after ten matchdays faces the one currently ranked third.
But first, let me introduce you to the 2. Bundesliga, one of the most interesting competitions in German football.
I'm sure most people reading this have heard of the Bundesliga. You've probably heard of Bayern München or Wolfsburg, seen Bundesliga players play for their national teams, or even watched the German National Team play in European competitions. But chances are that you haven't given the second division a glance yet. So consider this my attempt to change that and win you over! Because the 2. Bundesliga is so much more than just the league below the Bundesliga.
What is the 2. Bundesliga?
The 2. Bundesliga is the second-highest division in German football, for both women and men. Unlike in England, Germany has the same name and structure for both genders; Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga, 3. Bundesliga (the latter of which already exists for men, while the women's league will start in the 2027/28 season) and then the regional leagues.
Established in 2024, the 2. Bundesliga started out as a link between the Bundesliga and Germany's five regional women's leagues, which are named after their respective regions; West, North, Northeast, Southwest and South.
The 1. Bundesliga started out as two divisions before becoming a single one with 12 spots in 1997. With fewer places suddenly available in the top flight, the gap between the Bundesliga and the regional leagues became increasingly difficult to cross. Teams would absolutely dominate their regional competition but not stand a chance in the Bundesliga promotion playoffs, far from ready to play in the top division.
The 2. Bundesliga was established to solve this problem and prepare clubs for competing for a spot in Germany's top division. Just like the Bundesliga years before, the 2. Bundesliga originally started out with two divisions; a northern and a southern group, each with 12 teams. Each regional league was allocated a certain amount of places in one of the divisions. After 14 seasons of the double-tracked format, the league became a single nationwide division of 14 teams in 2018. The base of the united division was made up of all teams ranked two through six in each of the northern and southern division, completed by the two teams relegated from the Bundesliga and the winners of a playoff between teams from the former second leagues and the regional leagues.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the 2. Bundesliga was split into two groups for the 2020/21 season again, before reuniting the following year. The first ever match took place on 5 September 2004, when 1. FC Saarbrücken beat FC Erzgebirge Aue 7-1, with Christina Arend scoring the first ever goal in the 2. Bundesliga history.
Since then, the league's level of professionalism has continued to increase, producing future Bundesliga contestants and providing former ones with a space to rebuild themselves.
Are there any Familiar Names in the 2. Bundesliga?
This season, three second teams of Bundesliga clubs are part of the 2. Bundesliga. With the 3. Bundesliga set to kickoff its inaugural season next year, second teams will be prohibited from reaching the 2. Bundesliga starting from the 2029/30 season onwards. Until then, second teams can get as close as the league below their first team. This also means that they will be relegated if their first team is relegated, no matter what position they end the season on. Second teams are also only allowed to play with a maximum of three players over the age of 20 on the pitch at any one time.
One of the best things about the 2. Bundesliga is its diverse range of clubs. Some of these clubs have been prominent in women's football for years, while others have only recently begun to invest seriously in the women's game. Some have spent more than a decade in the 2. Bundesliga, occasionally playing a season in the 1. Bundesliga, while others are second teams that want to develop young, promising players in the hope that they will one day move up to their first team.
The first ever 2. Bundesliga champions were FFC Brauweiler Pulheim, a women's-only club established in 2000. They eventually joined 1. FC Köln in 2010, becoming their women's team.
Since then, many current Bundesliga clubs have passed through the 2. Bundesliga to reach Germany's top division. Examples include VfL Wolfsburg winning the Northern division in 2005/06, Freiburg winning the Southern division in 2010/11 and VfB Stuttgart winning the most recent season. The only club never to have played in the 2. Bundesliga with their first teams are Bayern München, who have not been relegated from the 1. Bundesliga since 2000, and, technically, SG Praunheim/1. FFC Frankfurt/Eintracht Frankfurt.
TSG Hoffenheim II and 1. FC Köln have been particularly successful, winning the league three times each. Hoffenheim II won the Southern division three times in a row, while Köln won the Southern division once and the single-track league twice.
People are Watching!
It's really exciting to see the growing interest in this competition. Union Berlin and Stuttgart in particular have introduced many of their supporters to the women's game.
In March 2026, 31.736 people packed into Stuttgart's MHP Arena to watch a nerve-wracking six-goal game against league opponent 1. FSV Mainz 05. After setting this new attendance record, Stuttgart went on to win the 2. Bundesliga, with Mainz finishing second and earning promotion alongside them. Union Berlin had set the previous record attendance of 20.132 people for their game against FSV Gütersloh 2009 at the Alte Försterei in May 2025. These numbers show what can be archived in women's football when given the opportunity and how important accessibility is, not just for the 2. Bundesliga but for every match in all tiers.
The 2. Bundesliga is also becoming easier to follow outside the stadiums as this season's matches are available to stream for free on LEAGUES and some on DAZN.
Promotion and Relegation
It's quite simple, actually.
The first and second placed teams in the 2. Bundesliga are promoted to the first division, while the teams that finish 13th and 14th in the 1. Bundesliga are relegated to the second tier.
The 2. Bundesliga's teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th are relegated to their respective regional divisions. Of the winners of the five regional leagues, one team is promoted directly and the other four are paired up for playoffs. These teams face each other twice, with one home game for each team, and the overall winner of each pair is promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.
However, things have gone a little differently in some years due to clubs withdrawing from the second league because of financial issues or administrative errors (like MSV Duisburg in 2024) or because they weren't eligible for promotion to the Bundesliga as a second team to a Bundesliga outfit.
The Berlin Derby
On Sunday, Viktoria Berlin will host their fellow Berlin club Hertha BSC and the game promises to be an entertaining one.
Viktoria and Hertha have already competed against each other in their regional league for two seasons, both aiming for promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. In the 2024/25 season, Viktoria Berlin won the regional league, with Hertha BSC finishing second. After winning their playoff games, Viktoria advanced to the 2. Bundesliga, while Hertha BSC remained in the regional division. Just a year later, however, Hertha won the league and this season they are playing in Germany's second division for the first time ever.
Previous meetings in the regional league always had unpredictable outcomes, Hertha won the first ever derby with 2-1 in late 2023, but just six months later, Viktoria Berlin dominated their second duel, winning 5-0. Their second season of facing each other was just as unpredictable, Viktoria lost their home game 0-3 in November, only to win the away game 2-0 against Hertha.
Now, they are facing each other for the first time in the 2. Bundesliga and this is not just an ordinary city derby.
Viktoria Berlin are currently top of the league, having won nine out of their ten games this season and collected 27 points. Hertha are just four points behind them, the only team between the two Berlin clubs is SGS Essen, who have the same number of points as Hertha, but a much better goal difference. Therefore, a win for Viktoria would strengthen their lead, potentially even seeing Hertha drop down to fourth if VfL Bochum win their game. A win for Hertha, on the other hand, would bring them closer to Viktoria, with only one point between them. If Essen don't win, Hertha could even take second place - which is rather unlikely if Essen do win, given that Essen has a goal difference of +21, while Hertha's is +7.
A draw would also be an interesting outcome in terms of the table. The only thing for certain right now is that Viktoria Berlin will remain top of the table, but the Berlin duo might shake up the ranks right underneath.
Both clubs have scored relatively few goals this season. While Essen (2nd) has scored 29 and Bochum (4th) 26, Viktoria has 'only' scored 17 goals in 10 matches and Hertha just slightly more with 19. However, Viktoria Berlin, has shown the strongest defence so far this season, conceding only five goals.
Expectations for this match are therefore high, with predictions of a hard-fought, tight match and a rather close result, perhaps a 1:0, a 2:1 or even a goalless draw. Looking at their regional league history, it would be Hertha's turn to win this game so that Viktoria can win the game in the second half of the season. But Viktoria are certainly looking to change that tradition.
Who else is playing?
Let me introduce you to all 14 teams competing in the 2. Bundesliga this season and how they did so far.
FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin
1st with 27 points and +12 goals
Viktoria Berlin is a relatively new club, having been formed in its current guise in 2013 through the merger of two former Berlin clubs.
Their history in women's football goes further, though, with Lichterfelder FC Berlin, one of the original clubs, reaching their regional league in 2004. Lichterfelde finished top of the table in the 2012/13 season, enabling Viktoria to play their first season under their new name in the 2. Bundesliga. However, they were relegated after just one season and it took them eleven years to finally make it back to the 2. Bundesliga in 2025.
An interesting fact about this team is that, after selling the majority stake to a holding organisation in 2022, Viktoria Berlin e.V. now owns just one percentage of the team, making them a rather unusual case in German women's football.
Anouk Decker (former Dutch international) played for the club before retiring and now works there as a part of the coaching staff.
After finishing fifth last season, the team has had a fantastic start to the current season, winning nine out of ten games and conceding only five goals. Goalkeepers Melanie Wagner and Hannah Etzold have kept six clean sheets and Christin Meyer and Melina Reuter are the team’s top scorers with five goals each.
SGS Essen
2nd with 23 points and +21 goals
I started watching football in 2022, and Essen has been my favourite team ever since.
This past summer marked their first relegation from the Bundesliga in 22 years, bringing an end to one of the division's longest continuous runs. They were also the last women-only, at least to a certain stretch, club remaining in the first division, after Turbine Potsdam's relegation last year.
Since they started their 1. Bundesliga campaign in the same year as the 2. Bundesliga was established, this will be their first ever season playing in Germany's second division.
With only seven players remaining from last season's squad - one of whom is only back on loan - the club has undergone a significant rebuild over the summer. They have recruited players from other clubs and promoted several of their own young talents, resulting in a very different team compared to the one from last season, but it’s working brilliantly.
Essen are renowned for developing talented young players, former players include Lena Oberdorf, Linda Dallmann, Lea Schüller, Stina Johannes, Nicole Anyomi, Sara Doorsoun, Marina Hegering, Vivien Endemann and Carlotta Wamser (current or former players for the German national team), Dominique Janssen, Jackie Groenen and Jill Bajings (Dutch internationals), Eleni Markou (Greek international), Lilli Purtscheller (Austrian international) and Emma Mukandi (née Mitchell, former Scotland player). Many of these players, especially the German ones, played their first Bundesliga minutes at SGS Essen.
Markus Högner, Essen's long-serving former head coach was also co-trainer for Germany's women's national team for two years starting in 2016.
Essen has had a great start to the season, then dropped some points but have now come back even stronger, scoring twelve goals in their last two games. They have won seven matches, drawn two and lost only to Viktoria Berlin. SGS have yet to concede more than one goal in a match this season and they are the team that has scored the most goals so far, 29 goals by nine different players. However, three players dominate the list; Laura Bröring and Kyra Spitzner both scored seven goals and Vanessza Nagy scored five.
Hertha BSC
3rd with 23 points and +7 goals
Newly promoted Hertha secured their spot in the 2. Bundesliga by winning the North-Eastern Regional League and then beating 1. FC Saarbrücken in the playoffs.
The club previously had a women's team in the 1970s and '80s, but eventually dropped it. There were cooperations with 1. FC Lübars and later Turbine Potsdam, before Hertha BSC took over the women's teams of Hertha 03 Zehlendorf in 2023.
After three seasons in the regional league, they have finally reached the 2. Bundesliga and this season is their opportunity to showcase their potential at a national level.
And they have performed really well so far. After losing their opening match, they went on to win seven games in a row and draw the last two. Elfie Wellhausen isn’t only the top goalscorer for Hertha but also for the whole league, having scored eight goals so far.
VfL Bochum
4th with 20 points and +14 goals
Bochum's women's football journey started in 2010, when they took over the football department of TuS Harpen, who had active women's teams dating back as far as 1970.
That same year, they also took over the playing rights of SG Wattenscheid 09. Wattenscheid had played in the Bundesliga for a season in the 1990s and was one of the 2. Bundesliga's founding members in 2004. After spending 25 seasons in the 2. Bundesliga and one season in the top division in 2007/08, Wattenscheid were relegated and were forced to give up their women's football department for financial reasons.
Apart from two seasons in the 2. Bundesliga, Bochum spent most of their own history in the regional league - and also intended to part with their women's department during that time, a decision that was only overturned by member voting - before returning to the 2. Bundesliga in 2023.
After finishing ninth last season, Bochum got off to a better start in the current season, even topping the table for the first few matchdays. They won six games, drew two and lost two, the most recent loss was a surprisingly heavy 0:3 defeat against SGS Essen. Keeper Anne Moll has kept six clean sheets so far, the highest number in the league. Bochum has scored the second-highest number of goals, with 13 players having found the back of the net 26 times in total. Currently, Dörthe Hoppius, Anna Marques, Nina Lange and Alina Angerer are joint topscorers with all of them scoring three times.
FC Ingolstadt 04
5th with 18 points and +4 goals
Ingolstadt's women's team began their journey in the 2004/05 season, playing in the sixth German division for several years before working their way up through the league system. They reached the regional league in 2014 and finally played their first season in the 2. Bundesliga in 2019/20.
They may not be the biggest name in the division and usually are to be found in the lower half of the table, but they are on a solid, consecutive run in the league.
Finishing seventh last season was a great result and now they are currently sitting even higher in the table. Their season has been rather chaotic, five wins, three losses and three draws all spread across the first eleven matchdays. Meppen and Ingolstadt already played their eleventh match last weekend while the rest will play theirs this weekend. Ingolstadt's top goalscorer is Stefanie Reischmann with five goals, followed closely by Emma Kusch with four. Goalkeeper Anna-Lena Daum has kept four clean sheets so far.
SV Meppen
6th with 16 points and +6 goals
Meppen's team used to play as SV Viktoria Gersten, one of the founding members of the inaugural 2. Bundesliga season in 2004. In 2010, the team joined Meppen and continued to play in Germany's second-highest division, usually finishing the season in the upper half of the table.
They eventually reached promotion to the Bundesliga in 2020, spent one season there, were relegated and returned a year later, only to be relegated again. Meppen has become somewhat of a German ‘Fahrstuhlmannschaft’ - an "elevator team" that moves between leagues every other year.
Former players include Elisa Senß and Vivien Endemann (German national players) and Athanasia Moraitou (Greek international). Their former coach, Tommy Stroot, later went on to coach FC Twente, winning the Dutch league twice, before moving on to VfL Wolfsburg, where he won the Bundesliga once and reached the UWCL final.
After finishing fourth last season, Meppen can once again be found in a similar position in the table. They had a strong start, winning their first four games, then lost two in a row, then drew the next four and now lost to Ingolstadt on the eleventh matchday. Meppen’s goalkeeper Carla Steenken has kept three clean sheets and midfielders Lilly Bartke and Bente Marie Bode are their top goalscorers with four goals each.
FC Carl Zeiss Jena
7th with 13 points and +1 goal
Jena is the other club that has been relegated, but their Bundesliga run was significantly shorter than SGS Essen’s. They were promoted in the 2023/24 season but were unable to avoid relegation this year.
The team used to play under the club FF USV Jena, spending ten consecutive seasons in the Bundesliga from 2008 to 2018, followed by another season in 2019/20. In 2020, the women's teams and their playing rights were transferred to Carl Zeiss Jena. Like Meppen, Jena has since become very familiar with the journey between Germany's top two leagues.
Similar to SGS Essen, only eight players from last season remained at Jena, with the remaining spots mainly filled by players from other 2. Bundesliga clubs, as well as recruiting some players from other leagues, including the Swiss and Swedish divisions.
A couple of familiar faces have been part of the club in the past, including Anna Blässe (two-time UWCL winner), Erin McLeod (Canadian international) or Mariella El Sherif (Austrian international). Former German national team coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg managed Jena for a year starting in 2012, before becoming Switzerland's and then Germany's head coach.
Jena’s season so far has certainly not gone according to plan. With four wins, one draw and five losses, they are currently in the middle of the table despite being considered one of the favourites to win the league. Forward Elira Terakaj is the top goalscorer with five goals and Rieke Tietz is just below her with four.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
8th with 13 points and -1 goal
Mönchengladbach has had a women's team since 1995, which spent more than a decade in Germany's fourth division.
They finally reached the regional league in 2009 and have since become another 'Fahrstuhlmannschaft'. In total, over the past few years, they've spent seven seasons in the regional league, eight in the 2. Bundesliga and two in the 1. Bundesliga.
Having ended last season in tenth place, just four points above the relegation zone once again, their mission this season is to find their footing again.
So far, they have done quite that well, sitting eight points above the relegation zone. Gladbach have won four games, drawn one and lost five, with Kiki Scholten their top goalscorer with three goals.
SG 99 Andernach
9th with 13 points and -9 goals
Andernach's women's team, nicknamed the "Bäckermädchen", was established in 2007 and played in their regional league for several years before reaching the 2. Bundesliga in 2017. After just one season there, they were relegated but won promotion again the following year, remaining in the 2. Bundesliga since the 2019/2020 season.
While they may do not have a history quite like Essen or Potsdam, and have not played a single season in Germany's top flight, Andernach are an essential part of the 2. Bundesliga's history. They show what this league is all about; creating a space for ambitious smaller clubs with limited financial resources but lots of passion.
After finishing sixth last season, Andernach started the current season with a wild mix of results, including four wins, one draw and five losses. The top goalscorer by far is forward Carolin Schraa with six goals.
SC Sand
10th with 12 points and -3 goals
Although SC Sand is a relatively small multi-sports club, its women's football team is well known within Germany.
Sand first reached the Bundesliga in 1996/97 before returning to the top division in 2014 and remaining there until 2022. Since their relegation in 2022, they've spent several seasons in the 2. Bundesliga, narrowly missing out on promotion by two points this summer. With big men's clubs investing in their women's teams, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Sand to keep up due to their tight budget.
You may recognise some former Sand players, including Nina Burger, Verena Hanshaw (née Aschauer) and Laura Feiersinger (all current or former Austrian internationals), Marisa Brunner (former Swiss international), Jovana Damjanović (Serbian international) and Tatiana Pinto (Portuguese international).
After finishing third last season, their start to this season has been underwhelming. Sand have only won three games, drawn three and lost four, not keeping a single clean sheet. The team’s top goalscorer is Pija Reininger with five goals.
Eintracht Frankfurt II
11th with 10 points and -12 goals
As the name suggests, Eintracht Frankfurt II is the second team of Eintracht Frankfurt.
They entered the 2. Bundesliga after Eintracht merged with 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2020 and have played in the league ever since.
Just like other second teams, they provide a stepping stone for young players who aren't quite ready for the first team yet, but who can use this high-level football to improve and potentially make it to the Bundesliga one day. It also provides an opportunity for Bundesliga players returning from injury to regain match fitness with the second team before moving back up to the first team, like Sophia Winkler is currently doing.
Frankfurt II finished eighth last season but have started the current season with four consecutive losses. Overall, they achieved just three wins, one draw and six losses. With just six goals scored overall, Helene Schäfer and Elâ Demirbaş are the two top scorers with two goals each.
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II
12th with 5 points and -10 goals
Hoffenheim II is arguably the most successful second team in the history of the 2. Bundesliga. They won the southern group three years in a row from 2015/16, and have produced quite some players for their first team. After being relegated from the second division in 2023/24, they now are back again.
However, a lot has changed since their glory days in the 2. Bundesliga,and the level has increased significantly. So far, Hoffenheim have only won one game, drawn two and lost the other seven but they have already scored 14 goals. Madita Röhrl and Vivien Thomann are the leading goalscorers with three goals each.
1. FFC Turbine Potsdam
13th with 5 points and -15 goals
Then there is Turbine Potsdam. One of the biggest women's football clubs that Germany - and arguably Europe - has ever produced. They have won six German championships, six Eastern German championships, three DFB-Cups and two European Cups.
Turbine started out as the women's team of BSG Turbine Potsdam, before becoming an independent women's football club in 1999. They joined Germany's top division in the 1994/95 season and have remained there for decades, even as the club went through infrastructural changes.
For decades, Potsdam was able to compete with the biggest international clubs and celebrate success after success. However, as major men's clubs began investing more and more in their women's departments, it became increasingly difficult for independent clubs like Potsdam - or Essen - to keep up.
In 2023, almost 30 years after joining the Bundesliga, Potsdam were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time ever. They bounced straight back up in 2024, only to be relegated after just one season. Last season was particularly frustrating, with Potsdam finishing 11th and only narrowly avoiding falling straight into the regional league.
After years of introducing young talents to the Bundesliga and attracting players from all over the world, Potsdam's main focus this year is to rebuild themselves and find their footing again.
The list of Potsdam's famous former players is far too long to mention them all, but names that have risen to domestic and international fame include Nadine Angerer, Svenja Huth, Anja Mittag, Feli Rauch, Ariane Hingst and Ann-Katrin Berger (all current or former German internationals), Alyssa Naeher (former USWNT player), Lia Wälti (Swiss international), Yūki Nagasato (former Japanese player) and Lara Prašnikar (Slovenian international).
Other big names include Lisa Evans (Scottish international), Ada Hegerberg and Maren Mjelde (current/former Norwegian internationals), Marie Höbinger and Sarah Zadrazil (Austrian internationals), Amanda Ilestedt (Swedish international), Elise Kellond-Knight (former Australian international) and Martyna Wiankowska (Polish international). And that's really only scratching the surface.
Potsdam’s season so far, however, has been extremely disappointing. With just one win among two draws and seven losses, they are in second-to-last place, with only seven goals scored so far. The top goalscorers are Johanna Bobbe and Laura Lindner who each have two goals to their name. Potsdam certainly needs to change something significantly or they will face relegation this season.
1. FC Köln II
14th with 2 points and -15 goals
Köln's second team completes this season's lineup, having won the Western Regional League and beaten Holstein Kiel in the playoffs.
They have already played in the 2. Bundesliga twice since 2017, but neither spell lasted more than one season. Now that they are back, they intend to change that.
However, things are not looking good so far. Köln II are in last place with only five goals, scored by five different players.
Why Should Everyone Watch the 2. Bundesliga?
The 2. Bundesliga doesn't have the current UWCL participants, international superstars or budgets that Germany's top division offers, but it has passion and eagerness, tradition and talent.
Clubs like Potsdam, were once among the world's best and are now trying to get back on their feet again, Essen, who are eager to prove themselves in the second division after their 22-year long run in the Bundesliga and Sand or Meppen, who have experienced both of Germany's top divisions and are looking for maybe another shot at promotion this season.
There are also club's second teams who are using the opportunity to develop their young talents by letting them play against strong opponents and it has new, ambitious teams that have only started their women's football journey in recent years.
We are in for many exciting battles, some of which have been fought time and time again and some of which are happening for the very first time.
With match streams and highlights available for free, there really isn't any good reason to not watch the 2. Bundesliga this season.
So what are you waiting for?