In total dependency
FC Schalke 04’s Gazprom dilemma
By Stephan Uersfeld & Tobias Nordmann
02/22/2022, 1:55 p.m
For years, FC Schalke 04 has had to listen to criticism of the deal with Gazprom. But again and again the contract with the gas giant is extended. Because of the Russian escalation in the Ukraine conflict, the football club falls into a deep dilemma.
The current dilemma of FC Schalke 04 is quickly outlined: the traditional club from Gelsenkirchen, which is fighting for direct promotion in the 2nd Bundesliga, is financially dependent on its main sponsor Gazprom, a Russian state company. Now the Russian state has allowed the conflict with Ukraine to escalate. President Vladimir Putin has officially recognized the separatist areas in the east of the former Soviet republic and sent his soldiers on a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine’s still official state territory. An act that is internationally regarded as an open declaration of war.
The explosive question that now looms over all those clubs and associations that have become financially dependent: Can sponsorship be separated from the global political situation? Especially against the background of an impending war? It is a question that can only lead to a dilemma. Because it is negotiated on two levels, which presumably lead to completely different answers. On the one hand, this question is discussed morally, but also economically. And thus for a club like FC Schalke 04 in an existential dimension. In the second division, the club will receive ten million euros per season. According to “Kicker”, the sum would more than double when you climbed up.
The money comes from Gazprom Germania, the German subsidiary of the Russian gas giant. Without this donation and without the income from a full arena (keyword corona restrictions), the club would hardly be viable. The association is currently plagued by financial liabilities of around 140 million euros. In the first half of 2021, the club reported a deficit of 21 million euros.
Schalke in dialogue with Gazprom
How difficult it is for the club to find a quick way out of this dilemma is shown by an initial statement that ntv.de also asked: “FC Schalke 04 is also following the latest developments in Eastern Europe with great concern aware of its special role among German sports clubs in this context […]. Those responsible for the club are in constant dialogue with the long-standing main sponsor. For FC Schalke 04 there is no question that the club is committed to peace and peaceful coexistence, the members have laid down non-violence in the mission statement (§8): ‘We Schalke players do not emit any discrimination or violence.’ S04 also expressed this attitude in talks with Gazprom Germania. FC Schalke 04 will monitor further developments, evaluate them and make a strong appeal for peace – to protect those affected by the crisis.”
The sponsoring by the gas giant, which has now lasted for 15 years, is repeatedly criticized in the fan scene. Last Friday, the deal with Gazprom became an issue again, because during the game against SC Paderborn, as always, advertising boards with the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project – which Chancellor Olaf Scholz stopped today, at least for the time being – were shown. With the addition “secure energy for Europe”. Against the background of the threatening escalation from the Russian side, this was quite disturbing.
But how to act? The marketing expert and self-confessed Schalke fan Raphael Brinkert made an appeal on Twitter on Tuesday morning, hours after Vladimir Putin’s speech attacking his Russian nation. He called for the deal to end immediately. “Since last night at the latest it has been clear: the cooperation with the Russian state-owned company Gazprom was, is and will remain a mistake that has given FC Schalke 04 singular additional income from the main sponsoring since 2007, but overall reduced income in almost every other area (merch, hospitality, sponsoring, PR) has brought,” the statement said.
“Partnership is and remains a mistake”
Brinkert, who was also responsible for the SPD campaign for the 2021 federal elections, was considered one of the candidates for the chairmanship of the Schalke board last year. He was also a co-initiator of the “Zukunftself”, an association of people close to the club who wanted to support him in restarting after relegation. With his agency, he looks after customers in the areas of sport, society and politics in particular. A separation from Gazprom would be “a PR coup for all sides,” explained the 44-year-old. “Short-term support from the state or federal government is also conceivable in order to compensate for the temporary loss for a limited time.”
In an interview with our ntv.de editors, he repeated his appeal for the immediate end of the cooperation: “Each additional game day with the Russian state company on the chest is highly problematic in terms of the club’s credibility and its self-imposed mission statement and canon of values.” The problem has become bigger in the past few months, which has been coming to a head for weeks. “I am firmly convinced that the club will examine alternative scenarios. What is certain is that the situation has become unbearable,” says Brinkert and makes concrete suggestions: “Sponsors could form a pool to jointly compensate for the financial loss, it could There are initiatives and merchandise collections, and the federal and state governments could also help with a bridging loan or advertise the national vaccination campaign on the shirt front for a limited time.”
The native of Westphalia thinks: “Attitude and the courage to act are rewarded, you can see that at FC St. Pauli too. Economically it would be a challenge for Schalke in the short term, but in the long term the club without Gazprom has a great opportunity for a new start in communication.”