The woman on the sideline

When Marie-Louise Eta stepped onto the sideline of the stadium An der Alten Försterei on 18 April 2026, all eyes were focused on 1. FC Union Berlin. More than 20,000 spectators watched the match in the stadium, with millions more following on screens. For many of them, Eta at that moment symbolised the profound changes in professional football.  

International media reported on her appearance, and she was celebrated on social media. “It was clear to me that more than just football was at stake here”, she later told Stern magazine.  

However, while others were discussing the symbolic impact of her role, her thoughts were focused mainly on the next match. As she has advanced in her career, Marie-Louise Eta has come to symbolise the growing influence of women in football. The German Football Association (DFB) wants to promote this development with its “FF27” strategy and increase the number of female players, coaches and referees by 25 percent by 2027. 

From talent to coach 

Marie-Louise Eta, born in Dresden in 1991, was already dribbling a ball around her parents’ shopping trolley before spending breaktime at school kicking a ball round with her classmates. She was a big fan of David Beckham’s crosses and free kicks and imitated his technique. At the age of 13 she joined Turbine Potsdam, one of the best teams in German women’s football at the time.  

Three years later, Eta was playing for Turbine Potsdam’s Bundesliga team. She was part of the World Cup-winning U-20 team, a three-time German champion and winner of the UEFA Women's Champions League. After qualifying as a coach, she joined Werder Bremen’s young talent training centre in 2018 and in 2023 moved to Union Berlin as co-coach of the U-19 team and the women’s team individual coach. 

A short time later, Eta joined the coaching staff of the men’s Bundesliga team, and for a time even stood in for head coach Nenad Bjelica on the sideline. In the male-dominated world of professional football, it wasn’t long before the usual sceptical and condescending comments were heard. When Union Berlin appointed her as interim head coach in April 2026, she reached another milestone in her career. 

In the summer of 2026, Eta will be taking over the Union Berlin women’s team in the Bundesliga. “It would be great if I could inspire girls and women to follow a similar path and open even more doors for themselves in future,” she says time and again in interviews. At the same time, she never wanted to reduce her career to the question of gender. “For me it’s always about football. It’s about working together with other people and about doing what I enjoy the most.”