- DOUGLAS announces sponsorship of women's soccer team FC Viktoria Berlin at SPOBIS in Düsseldorf
- Players to sport DOUGLAS logo on their jersey sleeves from September 25 onwards
- DOUGLAS Group CEO Tina Müller: "The great public interest shows that women's soccer is on the rise. With our strong brand, we are giving the team even greater visibility"
- Two-time swimming world champion Franziska van Almsick joins Viktoria's supervisory board
- Prominent personalities such as Lea-Sophie Cramer, Carolin Kebekus and Dunja Hayali join as investors
DOUGLAS is to become a sponsor of the FC Viktoria Berlin women's team with immediate effect. With this move, Europe's leading provider of premium beauty and health products is making a clear commitment to diversity and equality in soccer and in society. The sponsorship was announced today at the SPOBIS ("Sportbusiness Event") in Düsseldorf. As part of the sponsor presentation, two-time swimming world champion Franziska van Almsick was also introduced as a member of Viktoria Berlin's supervisory board. The club's investors include personalities such as Lea-Sophie Cramer, Carolin Kebekus, Dunja Hayali and Maria Höfl-Riesch. FC Viktoria Berlin's women's team most recently achieved a high level of media attention in July with the acquisition of the six-member founding team around Verena Pausder and former German national player and two-time world champion Ariane Hingst. The team is expected to move up from the third division to the Bundesliga within the next five years.
"Female soccer players around the world are achieving sensational success - and yet issues such as fair pay, diversity and equal rights play a subordinate role in women's soccer," says Tina Müller, DOUGLAS Group CEO. "Together with FC Viktoria Berlin, we are walking a new and innovative path for Germany for more visibility for women's achievements. Because women inspire and excite women!"
The role model for the founders of Viktoria Berlin is the Angel City FC women's soccer club in Los Angeles, founded in 2020 by Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria and Serena Williams: the club has been playing in the US National Women's Soccer League since this season, and the players share in the profits.
"The high level of public interest clearly shows that women's soccer is on the rise," says Tina Müller. "We had been thinking about getting involved in the sports sector for some time, but it had to fit our brand. We are now all the more delighted about the partnership with Viktoria Berlin, whose vision is a perfect fit for DOUGLAS and also brings us a significant advertising and communication effect. We are combining our corporate and brand attitude for more equality with media attention for DOUGLAS."
On September 25, the FC Viktoria Berlin women's team will play for the first time in the new jersey with the DOUGLAS logo on the sleeve against SV B.W. Hohen Neuendorf.