What do ex-swimmer Franziska von Almsick, skiing star Maria Höfl-Riesch, dancer Nikeata Thompson and former tennis player Anke Huber have in common? Together with 243 other people, they are all investing in the football club Viktoria Berlin.
The football club currently playing in the 3rd division was founded in 2022 with an all-female management team led by ex-footballer Ariane Hingst and has ambitious goals. FC Viktoria Berlin, which has been spun off into an independent limited company, wants to play in the top flight by 2027. It has set itself the goal of competitively paying the footballers, creating an attractive and digital membership model and integrating suitable sponsors.
Investors for the FUTURE goal: Viktoria Berlin has big plans
The Berlin club took an important step towards the top tier of German football with the first closing of a financing round, which brought in EUR 700,000 in fresh capital and a network of strategic partnerships in addition to the 246 investors mentioned above. Talks with further investors are planned and will be held in 2025. What is particularly interesting is that the company behind FC Viktoria Berlin remains 90 per cent female-owned.
The team led by former Bundesliga professionals Eunice Beckmann (Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich, among others) and Nina Ehegötz (Turbine Potsdam) is also doing well on the pitch. The „Sky Blues“ have won every league game before the top match on matchday 9 against Hertha BSC. After the 0:3 home defeat, there are signs of a tight race for promotion to the second division. In addition to Hertha BSC, the second team of RB Leipzig is also at the top of the table with 24 points.
Big names IN BERLIN: Stepstone as main sponsor
Viktoria Berlin could face big names in the second division. For example, Turbine Potsdam, multiple German champions and cup winners. What the traditional club from Brandenburg has not yet managed to do, the team around Hingst have already achieved: finding a strong main sponsor.
The job platform Stepstone has been a sponsor of the club since 2022 and extended its contract with the Berlin club until 2025 in the spring. According to reports from W&V, Stepstone is paying EUR 500,000 for the jersey sponsorship.
image: Filiz Serinyel / FC Viktoria Berlin
