All focus on reaching the Bundesliga

Early in the 2023/24 season, following their undefeated promotion from the Regionalliga Nordost, Union had already showed they could establish themselves in amongst the top teams of the 2. Bundesliga. With 28 points from 13 games, they finished the first half of the season in second place, four points behind leaders 1. FC Nürnberg.

After a two-month winter break, a training camp in sunny Spain, and five new signings, Ailien Poese's team returned to league action at the beginning of February. The opening fixtures against fellow promoted teams Hamburger SV and Nürnberg were set to be tough and would prove to be indicative of the season to come.

Big points at the start of the year

Despite falling a goal behind after two minutes and then going a player down after 81, Lisa Heiseler turned the start of the second half of the season around with a brace, deciding the game. It was the start of an outstanding second half of the season for Union's captain.

That was followed by a top-of-the-table clash against the league leaders from Nuremberg, one which many fans will still remember. In their first home game of 2025, the hosts were outstanding and made a clear statement of intent with their 4-0 victory.

Frankfurt: Union’s nemeses

Important points were also picked up from the 1-0 and 3-0 wins over Weinberg and Andernach, increasing the lead over the non-promotion spot to eight points on matchday 17. Surprisingly, FCU had the most problems with the second teams in the second half of the season: they dropped their first points in a 2-2 draw with Bayern II on matchday 18 and suffered their only defeat, a 1-0 loss at home against Eintracht II, just as they had the year before. It was their third of the season against Frankfurt, having also been eliminated from the DFB Pokal by their first team.

After that defeat, the gap to the consistent league leaders Nürnberg grew to six points, the chances of the title were growing slimmer by the week.

Convincing victories and a well-deserved promotion

After this setback, however, Union would hit outstanding form for the rest of the season. A 4-0 home win against Ingolstadt was surpassed a week later by another 4-0 win at promotion rivals Meppen. This victory in Emsland meant that Union could secure promotion early with a win on the next matchday, one that was made all the sweeter by a defeat for leaders Nürnberg, bringing Union to within three points.

Then, with three games to go, promotion was finally tangible. In front of over 14,000 spectators at the Alte Försterei – a new second division record – Union were relentless in their waves of attacks into the Borussia Mönchengladbach penalty box and, after just ten minutes, they were already 2-0 up thanks to goals from Anna Weiß and Naika Reissner. Dina Orschmann and Lisa Heiseler sealed the game before half-time. In the second half, Celine Frank and Tomke Schneider made it 6-1, the six different goal scorers showing the strength of the collective effort that had finally secured the club's first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga. When the final whistle blew, all hell broke loose and the team celebrated the greatest success in the club's history on the pitch.

Nürnberg defeat opens perfect end to the season

After a few celebratory days, however, focus returned to the pitch, as there were still three games left to play, especially as, one day before the match against SC Freiburg II, it became clear to everyone involved that they had to win them all when Nürnberg lost 2-0 to Hamburger SV, giving Union the opportunity to overtake them. They succeeded in a hard-fought 3-2 win, with the decisive goal scored by substitute, Korina Janež. A week later, the last away game of the season was in Bochum. There, Lisa Heiseler and Nele Bauereisen each scored twice in a 5-2 away win. A direct corner kick from Union's captain put the icing on the cake.

This set up a perfect scenario for the final matchday. With a win against already relegated Gütersloh, Union could clinch the title. The 20,132 spectators that filled the Alte Försterei - surpassing their own record – were treated to a spectacle. Halfway through the first half, Dina Orschmann and Lisa Heiseler scored three times before Heiseler added one more, leaving an emotional farewell goal from striker Sarah Abu Sabbah to make it 6-0.

With 19 wins, five draws, two defeats, 62 points, and 71:17 goals, Union were crowned second division champions. Amongst the showers of beer and the raining confetti, there was one more trophy to be claimed, however. Lisa Heiseler was crowned as the 2. Bundesliga's top scorer with 22 goals, 19 of which came in those 13 games in 2025. The captain scored in every game in the second half of the season, except for the 0-1 defeat in Frankfurt. She even scored a hat trick in two games.

Both titles, as well as the men's league survival, were then celebrated with the fans from the balcony at the Alte Försterei – a party few will forget that lasted long into the night. It was a milestone that everyone at 1. FC Union Berlin had been working towards, at least since the professionalisation of the women's department.

At the same time, however, the 2024/25 season also marked the end of the road for some of the promotion heroes. Sarah Abu Sabbah, Charleen Niesler, Sarah Hornschuch, Zita Rurack, Sophie Trojahn, Anouk Blaschka, Ginger Schulz, Latoya Bach, Eleni Markou, Marie Becker, Maria Cristina Lange, and Pia Metzker all left Union with the greatest success in the club's history.

With an average attendance of 7,190, Union were not only the best attended club in the 2. Liga. Nor were they only the best attended club in all of Germany. With an average of over 7,000 spectators, they had fourth highest average attendance in all of European women’s football, a quite astonishing achievement.

The wait is over – Union debut in the Bundesliga

After successful athletic and medical tests, the Union team began preparations for their first Bundesliga season on July 21, 2025. The four new summer signings Eileen Campbell, Samantha Steuerwald, Sophie Weidauer and Anna Aehling joining them. Internationals, Tanja Pawollek, Hannah Eurlings, and Nadine Böhi also joined the team after the European Championship. The coaching and management team also received comprehensive reinforcements with Sabrina Eckhoff, Simon Falke, Alisa Vetterlein, Bao Nguyen, Lea Schneider, Viktoria Tänzer, and Jan Walle.

The intensive summer preparations culminated in a training camp in Klosterpforte. The victories against Pogoń Szczecin (2-1) and VfL Wolfsburg (2-0) gave particular cause for cheer. This was followed by further friendlies against Real Madrid at home and against Aston Villa at the Bescot Stadium, Walsall. Shortly before the start of the season, Union also signed Danish youth international, Alma Aagaard.

Euphoria, ecstasy, disillusionment

On September 7, the big day arrived: Union celebrated their debut in the German top flight with a 1-1 draw against 1. FC Nürnberg, earning the club's first point; captain Lisa Heiseler scored the historic first goal from the penalty spot. Despite a strong performance, Union conceded an equaliser in the 90th minute.

The first away game saw more excitement when the Berliners fought back from an early two goal deficit but were narrowly defeated 2-3.

One week, three games, three wins

The team celebrated their first top flight win on the third matchday when, in front of 7,184 spectators at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, SGS Essen faced a determined Union team, who won 2-0 thanks to an own goal and Sophie Weidauer's first for the club. It remains a success that will go down in the history of 1. FC Union Berlin.

Just three days after their first home win, the team secured their first three points on the road. On a Tuesday evening, in front of over 300 travelling fans, twins Katja and Dina Orschmann scored the goals in a 2-1 victory over FC Carl Zeiss Jena. The perfect week was rounded off with a 2-0 cup win at 1. FSV Mainz 05. Three wins and a place in the DFB Pokal round of 16 was the reward of a pretty good eight days.

Freiburg frustration, Cologne knockout and Leipzig lesson

In the following weeks, Poese's team suffered two defeats. First came a 3-0 home defeat against Freiburg, then a 2-1 reverse in Köln. But they bounced back on matchday 7, with a statement, 5-0 home win against RasenBallsport Leipzig. New signing Eileen Campbell was involved in four of the five goals.

Autumn personnel worries

Shortly afterwards, Austrian international Marina Georgieva was signed, but the weeks that followed were marked by some terrible luck with injuries. A weakened and depleted squad fell 3-0 to Bremen, 4-1 to Wolfsburg, and 4-0 to Bayern, performances which were followed by a bitter cup exit after the 1-0 defeat at home to Jena. They could still hold their heads up, however, looking back. Some strong performances hadn’t been rewarded, especially in the home game against Wolfsburg, when Antonia Halverkamps scored a dream goal, directly from her corner.

On match day 11, Union ended their losing streak with a 1-1 draw in a floodlit game against fellow promoted team Hamburger SV. Just one day later, a special moment followed when, at the CHAMPIONS Gala 2025, the team were voted Women's Team of the Year by the people of Berlin. In addition, Ailien Poese became the first woman ever to receive the “Coach/Manager of the Year” award.

A thrilling end to the year

With a 2-2 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt and a 2-1, last game of the year, but first game of the second-half-of-the-season, win over 1. FC Nürnberg, Union went into their well-deserved two-week winter break with 15 points from 14 games. This left them in a more than creditable 10th place in their debut Bundesliga season at the half way point.

It had been a bumpy but combative start, which at the same time underlines the team's spirit and huge potential for an equally successful 2026.