“Money is above everything”
Fan alliance complains about investors getting involved and accuses them
December 11, 2023, 4:01 p.m
The clubs in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga decide by a narrow majority to woo a billion-dollar investor. The fan alliance “Our Curve” sees this as a final departure from what made Germany’s football unique.
The fan alliance “Our Curve” has criticized the decision to invest in the German Football League (DFL). “The DFL’s cheap words during the Corona break have finally vanished into thin air. Money comes above everything,” the organization said in a statement. “The uniqueness of German football is being thrown overboard in a hopeless rat race with the Premier League.”
The nationwide alliance had already warned against such a step before the DFL general meeting’s decision on Monday. The representatives of the 36 first and second division clubs have now cleared the way for the DFL’s planned billion-dollar deal with an investor. A corresponding motion barely received the necessary two-thirds majority with 24 yes votes at the meeting in a Frankfurt airport hotel.
“The DFL speaks of further development, ‘Our Curve’ of setbacks,” writes the fan organization with chairman Jost Peter. “The consequences of this decision also exacerbate the unequal opportunities in the German leagues in favor of an increasingly artificial product of the international Tiktok world.” “Our Curve” also criticizes the fact that the participation of club members and the club-fan dialogue anchored in the license agreement “do not seem to play an important role” in future-oriented decisions by the DFL.
At the press conference following the meeting, the two DFL managing directors Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel emphasized that they had also taken the mood in the fan scene into account. “We have looked at it very closely in the last few weeks, taken it to heart and reflected it accordingly in the proposal,” said Merkel. Lenz emphasized that the DFL leadership would therefore “act responsibly and very clearly within the red lines”.
The management of the umbrella organization of German professional football can now begin concrete negotiations with a strategic marketing partner. Six companies are said to have expressed interest in a partnership with the DFL. A financial investor is expected to pay one billion euros for a percentage share of the TV revenue. The contract should have a maximum term of 20 years and be signed by the start of the 2024/25 season. There was resistance to such a deal from the fan camp until the very end.