FC Schalke 04 (women)
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July 2020 (refoundation)
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| Founded | 1975 July 2020 (refoundation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground | Glückauf-Kampfbahn, Gelsenkirchen | |||
| Capacity | 11,000 | |||
| CEO | Matthias Tillmann | |||
| Head coach | Stefan Colmsee | |||
| League | Westfalenliga | |||
| 2024–25 | 2nd | |||
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| Departments of Schalke 04 | |||||||
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FC Schalke 04 is a German women's association football team based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia.
DJK Eintracht Erle
In 1974, a women's football department was founded in Gelsenkirchen-Erle, four years after the ban on women's football was lifted. Early regulations differed from men's football, with shorter playing times and modified equipment.[1] DJK Eintracht Erle reached the final of the first official German Women's Championship but lost to TuS Wörrstadt.[2]
1975–1987: The first era
Former Schalke 04 president Günter Siebert sought to establish a women's division, influenced by the success of DJK Eintracht Erle and Schalke's involvement in the Bundesliga scandal. Facing financial struggles, Eintracht Erle agreed to join Schalke, with a friendly match generating funds for Erle. In 1975, Schalke 04 officially established its women's football division after integrating DJK Eintracht Erle. The team began competing in the Bezirksliga, the highest league at the time, with limited resources but growing recognition.[1]
Schalke 04's women's team made pioneering strides in Westphalian football, winning the Westfalenmeisterschaft five times (1977, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985) but never advancing past the German Championship quarterfinals or the first round of the DFB-Pokal in their both participations in 1982–83 and 1984–85.
In 1987, Schalke 04 dissolved its women's team due to financial struggles worsened by the men's team's relegations to the 2. Bundesliga, which forced president Günter Siebert to implement drastic measures, including shutting down the women's division.[3]
2020s: Re-establishment
Following a brief cooperation with 1. FFC Recklinghausen from 2007 to 2010,[4] Schalke 04 formed a women's football team in July 2020, focusing on grassroots and amateur sports. The club began by adding a team to the Kreisliga B and gradually built a youth division.[5] Glückauf-Kampfbahn became the home venue for the women's team since their reestablishment.[6]
In the 2020–21 season, the team finished first before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021–22, Schalke became champions and earned promotion to the Landesliga, and in the following season, the team advanced to the Westfalenliga.[7] In the 2024–25 season, Schalke finished in second place behind their rivals, Borussia Dortmund, which meant they remained in the same division, as only one club could be promoted.[8] In April 2026, they secured promotion to the Regionalliga West, finishing top of their division.[9]
