RB Leipzig (women)

RB Leipzig are a German women's football club based in Leipzig that competes in the Bundesliga, the top tier of football in Germany. Their second team has been part of the Regionalliga since 2020.

RB Leipzig

Full name	RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V.
Nickname(s)	Die Roten Bullen (The Red Bulls)
Short name	RBL
Founded	2016; 9 years ago (2016)
Ground	Trainingszentrum am Cottaweg, Platz 1, Leipzig
Capacity	2,015[1]
Owner	Red Bull GmbH (99%) (of GmbH)
CEO	Oliver Mintzlaff[2]
Head coach	Jonas Stephan
League	Frauen-Bundesliga
2023–24	8th of 12
Website	https://rbleipzig.com
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

History

Establishment

RB Leipzig entered women's football in 2016. The club initially planned to partner with Leipziger FC 07, forming a joint team in the fourth tier Landesliga Sachsen.^[3] The partnership was meant to last for one year, after which RB Leipzig was to continue as an independent, and reserved the right to advance. RB Leipzig and Leipziger FC 07 were given a playing right for the 2016–17 Landesliga Sachsen on a wild card by the Saxony Football Association (SFV). A few weeks before the start of the season, the partnership ended and RB Leipzig announced that it was to compete as an independent.^[4][5][6]

The first squad gathered 17 players from FFV Leipzig, five talents from the RB Leipzig women's junior teams and one from the reserve team of FF USV Jena. The team was trained by Sebastian Popp, former head coach of women's football team SV Eintracht Leipzig-Süd. The SFV expected the RB Leipzig women's team, with the state training centre for women's and girls' football, to advance from Landesliga Sachsen to Bundesliga within 3 to 5 years.^[7]

The team played its first competitive match on 7 August 2016 in the first round of the 2016–17 Saxony Cup away against SV Johannstadt 90. RB Leipzig recorded a 7–0 victory, and advanced to the next round.^[8]

The RB Leipzig women's team joined the 2016–17 Landesliga Sachsen (effectively skipping the 5th tier), generating criticism from several clubs.^{[9][10][4][11]} The criticisms were heard, and after a roundtable discussion with other clubs and the SFV, Leipzig offered to play the season starting seven youth players each game. The SFV also ordered the first three games to be replayed and disqualified Leipzig from the Saxony Cup.^[12] RB Leipzig won the league with four matchdays remaining.^[13]

After finishing 4th and 3rd in their first two seasons in the third tier, Leipzig won the Regionalliga Nordost and achieved promotion to the second division after the 2019–20 season's completion was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.^[14]

In the 2022–23 season, Leipzig secured promotion to the Bundesliga with six matches remaining.^[15] They later won the division's title with four matches left, following a 6–0 away win over Eintracht Frankfurt II.^[16]

Stadium

The team play home matches at the Sportanlage Gontardweg, which is the location of the state training centre for women's and girls football of the SFV, taken over by RB Leipzig from FFV Leipzig in July 2016.^[17][18]

Players

First team squad

As of 15 January 2025^[19]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SUI Elvira Herzog 2 DF  GER Frederike Kempe 3 DF  GER Josefine Schaller 4 DF  GER Nina Räcke 5 DF  AUT Julia Magerl 6 DF  FRA Lou-Ann Joly 7 MF  GER Giovanna Hoffmann 8 FW  ISL Emilía Ásgeirsdóttir 9 FW  AUT Katja Wienerroither 10 FW  GER Vanessa Fudalla 11 MF  GER Barbara Brecht 13 FW  GER Sandra Starke 14 FW  GER Marleen Schimmer 15 FW  JPN Mai Kadowaki

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  AUT Michela Croatto 17 FW  SUI Lydia Andrade 19 MF  GER Jenny Hipp 20 DF  GER Victoria Krug (captain) 21 DF  GER Julia Landenberger 23 FW  GER Kyra Spitzner 25 GK  GER Eve Boettcher 26 MF  GER Luca Maria Graf 27 FW  GER Marlene Müller 28 GK  GER Lina von Schrader 30 DF  SUI Lara Marti 32 FW  GER Mia Werner 33 MF  GER Zoè Werner

Seasons

Season	Division	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos	DFB Pokal[n 1][20]	Competition	Result	Competition	Result	Player(s)	Goals
	League[21]										Europe[22]		Other[n 2][23]		Top League Scorer
2016–17	Landesliga Frauen Sachsen	24	23	1	0	—	—	70	1st	-	—	—	Sachsenpokal	DQ[n 3]	—	—
2017–18	Regionalliga Nordost	22	15	2	5	—	—	47	4th	-	—	—	Sachsenpokal	SF	—	—
2018–19	Regionalliga Nordost	22	18	0	4	—	—	54	3rd	-	—	—	Sachsenpokal	W	—	—
2019–20	Regionalliga Nordost	15	14	1	0	—	—	43	1st[n 4]	2R	—	—	Sachsenpokal	W	—	—
2020–21	2. Frauen-Bundesliga	16	8	2	6	32	30	26	3rd	R16	—	—	—	—	Vanessa Fudalla	6[25]
2021–22	2. Frauen-Bundesliga	26	17	2	7	70	46	53	3rd	2R	—	—	—	—	Vanessa Fudalla	17[26]
2022–23	2. Frauen-Bundesliga	26	21	1	4	84	23	64	1st	SF	—	—	—	—	Vanessa Fudalla	20[27]
2023–24	Frauen-Bundesliga	22	7	5	10	26	41	26	8th	R16	—	—	—	—	Vanessa Fudalla	10[28]

Notes

1. The DFB-Pokal Frauen only invites teams from the country's top two divisions, and the winners of the regional cups which serve as qualifying tournaments.
2. Only teams in the third division and below participate in the regional cups.
3. Leipzig were disqualified after protests over the composition of their squad after their formation in the summer of 2016.^[12]
4. Season was abandoned after 15 matches due to COVID-19.^[24]

Key

Key to league: P = Played W = Games won D = Games drawn L = Games lost GF = Goals for GA = Goals against Pts = Points Pos = Final position

Key to divisions and rounds: W = Champions RU = Final (Runners-up) SF = Semi-finals QF = Quarter-finals R32/R16 = Round of 32, Round of 16, etc. 1R/2R = 1st Round, 2nd Round, etc.

Champions

Runners-up

Current Season

Honours

League

• 2. Bundesliga (II)
  • Champions: 2022–23
• Regionalliga Nordost (III)
  • Champions: 2019–20
• Landesliga Sachsen (IV)
  • Champions: 2016–17

Cup

• Saxony Cup (de)
  • Champions: 2018–19, 2019–20