Overview

• TSG Hoffenheim will automatically prolong any female player’s expiring deal by 12 months at existing economic terms once she becomes pregnant.
• Club director Markus Schütz says the measure closes the mismatch between FIFA rules, DFB measures and the working reality of women in professional football.
• Ralf Zwanziger notes the policy responds to a growing number of players choosing to start families during their careers and delivers vital planning security.
• The initiative is backed by the Fußball kann mehr (FKM) advocacy group and former national goalkeeper Almuth Schult, who hopes other Bundesliga clubs adopt similar protections.
• Hoffenheim joins international peers in the USA, Italy’s AC Milan and Norway, where maternity safeguards such as contract extensions and childcare subsidies are already in place.