Back in 1975, 15 years before the formation of the German Women's Bundesliga, a Jamaican starlet thrust the women's game into the spotlight. Following in the footsteps of Bärbel Wohlleben a year earlier, Beverly Ranger became the second woman to net the winning entry in TV channel ARD's long-running Goal of the Month poll. Appearing for SSG Bergisch-Gladbach against Bonner SC, Ranger rounded no fewer than five opponents before striking the equaliser to make the score 1-1. Ranger was one of the pioneering foreigners in German women's football, and the inaugural Bundesliga season in 1990/91 established an increasing trend for overseas players.

At the start, when the league was split into two sections of ten teams each, TSV Siegen featured Dutch duo Loes Camper and Marjan Veldhuizen. FSV Frankfurt brought in US goalkeeper Mary Harvey from California Tremors, while Bayern Munich signed striker Ana Muno Perez from Real Madrid.

Overseas players were exotic exceptions in the German women's game at the time, but the Women's Bundesliga has since developed into a truly multi-cultural community. At the start of the 2006/07 campaign for example, the 12 top flight clubs boasted a total of 25 overseas players. In 2005, Cristiane became the first Brazilian to grace the German league. The 21-year-old striker, who won her first full cap back in 2001, spent a season and a half with top outfit Turbine Potsdam before joining VfL Wolfsburg.

Denmark international Louise Hansen rates as a veteran of the league. She collected championship honours with TSV Siegen back in 1996, and after joining FFC Frankfurt in 2001 made a major contribution to the club's league, Cup and UEFA Cup triple triumph the following season.

The 2007/08 Bundesliga squads feature players from twelve overseas nations: Brazil, Denmark, Romania, Turkey, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Kosovo and New Zealand. TSV Crailsheim keeper Rachel Howard is the furthest from home. Before the 28-year-old joined TSV in 2005, she appeared for the colourful-sounding Taradale AFC and Takapuna AFC, both on New Zealand's North Island.