Green light for investors in German football

At a meeting of the German Football League (DFL) on December 11, German football clubs voted in a plan to secure private equity investment in return for a share of TV rights over the next two decades. Of the 36 clubs in the top two divisions, 24 voted in favor, achieving the required two-third majority by just one vote. Ten voted against, while two abstained in the secret ballot.

DFL managing director Steffen Merkel said the outcome showed "German football is ready to invest in the future."

Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said "we've got the result that we wished for in order to develop the league."

The deal envisages the selling of six to nine per cent of the shares in a DFL subsidiary, to which all media rights are outsourced, for 20 years, at the cost of somewhere between €800 million and €1 billion.

With the entry of an investor, the DFL wants to further develop its business model and improve the international marketing of the top two leagues, including the creation of a streaming platform. According to reports, there is a broad consensus among the clubs that this is the right approach, but the clubs and the DFL are less united on the question of whether an investor should be brought in to achieve this.

Big changes ahead

Six months after the first attempt to bring on an investor failed, the door has now been opened to the kind of investment that German football has not seen before. After all, German football has proudly built a reputation for itself through its fan commitment and by restricting the degree of influence external investors can have on the club through the 50+1 rule, which requires clubs have at least 50 percent plus one vote ownership of the club, thereby ensuring members have control over major club decisions.

Indeed, the weekend before the meeting, Bundesliga stadiums across the country saw fan protests against the arrival of investors. Recently, fan alliance "Unser Kurve" complained the process was rushed and lacked "sensible, transparent and in-depth discussion."

Critics are concerned that the so-called "red lines" promised by the two DFL managing directors Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel will not be kept, with investors potentially exerting indirect influence. According to the DFL though, the investor should have no influence on the organisation of kick-off times, should not be able to move matches abroad against the will of the clubs or introduce play-offs in the Bundesliga.

jh/jt (SID, AFP, ARD)