‘It means everything': how Union Berlin Women completed epic journey to the top

The Guardian

06-05-2025

'I can't describe how I feel,' Lisa Heiseler says as she reflects on a momentous weekend for Union Berlin Women. Just three days after her side secured a historic promotion to the Frauen-Bundesliga, the captain is clearly still processing everything that has happened to her and her teammates.
27 April 2025 will be a date for ever etched in the memories of Union Berlin's women's team and their fans. A 6-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach in front of over 14,000 jubilant fans at the Stadion An der Alte Försterei saw Ailien Poese's side secure promotion with three games to spare, one that will see them play in the top echelon of German football for the first time and at the first time of asking.
'There's this video going around of when I was a 14-year-old girl saying my dream was to play in the women's Bundesliga,' Heiseler says. 'Now I have done it, I can't believe it. I'm so proud of the club that we've been able to take this step together. I've been here my entire life so it is indescribable. This club is in my heart … they have helped me to live my dream so it means everything for me.'
The success marks the culmination of Union Berlin's meteoric rise in recent years. Just two seasons ago, they were playing in front of 100 people in the Regionalliga Nordost, the third tier of German football. However, back-to-back promotions will see them now go toe-to-toe with the nation's best teams in the autumn. It is an ascent that has mirrored that of the men's side who achieved promotion to the Bundesliga in 2019.
Union Berlin is a special club that has its own unique history. In 1969, a group of women studying nearby became one of the first women's teams in East Germany, coached by Bernd Müller and Bernd Vogel from the men's first team. When the East German Football Association ruled that women's football was a recreational sport, the club were not allowed to run a team so the players joining Kabelwerk Oberspree (KWO Berlin). When the reunification of Germany took place in 1990, KWO Berlin was dissolved and all the women's players joined Union.
Nowadays, Union Berlin is owned by over 69,000 members and it is famous for its distinctive fan culture. The women's team turned professional in the 2023-2024 season, a move that was supported strongly by the president, Dirk Zingler, and it was one that immediately paid off.
Heiseler has been at the heart of it all. Now 26, the Berlin native has been at the club since she was 13 years old and has literally been there every step of the way. 'Growing up here in Köpernick, the club did everything possible for me to become a footballer,' she says. 'Even when I was at school, I was able to combine it with football. On the pitch, I have seen an improvement since turning professional. I have grown more confident and I lead a more professional life with food and nutrition.'
'We play in a new training centre into which millions have been invested to give us the opportunities that we've had. We can now live from football and can focus on it. We don't have to work. Some of us choose to but we don't have to. Only a couple of years ago, we were playing in front of 100 people at the old ground … and now we have an average of almost 6,000 people here in the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga. It is an astonishing development.'
This campaign has seen the team hit new heights. Poese's side have lost just twice in the league, have outscored their opponents and possess the joint meanest defence in the league; Heiseler, herself, is the current top scorer with 17.
The captain credits her team's 'togetherness' as being key. 'There is a lot of constructive criticism within the team,' she says. 'We are very open with each other and that has allowed us to improve things. For example, we needed to be better in front of goal and we've worked on that. That has also led to this unity. We all stand up for each other.'
It will no doubt be a busy summer for the club as they build towards their first ever Bundesliga campaign. 'The first goal, of course, is to establish ourselves and to not get relegated,' Heiseler says. 'But then we need to establish themselves as a team. Personally, I want to show that I can measure up among the best football players in Germany and go up against them.'
For now, however, focus remains firmly on the end of this season. A 3-2 victory away to Freiburg at the weekend saw them rise to the top of the table. To lift the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga trophy in front of their home fans on the final day would be the perfect finale to a memorable campaign. Talking points
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