The board of directors of 1. FC Köln has expressed clear criticism of the possible DFL investor deal. Alternatives would not be considered enough, the planned distribution of money would also cement the differences. FC called the schedule “downright absurd”.
In a newsletter to the members of 1. FC Köln on Sunday (May 21, 2023), the board announced that it “resolutely reject”to provide additional money for the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs via the DFL. “The further development of a club and its financing are management tasks of each individual club, not the DFL management”wrote President Werner Wolf and the two Vice Presidents Carsten Wettich and Eckard Sauren.
On May 24, a general meeting of the 36 DFL clubs from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 decides whether the cooperation with an investor should be pursued further. A two-thirds majority is required.
Cologne board: There are “good alternatives”
The FC board criticized that alternatives were hardly considered. “Without an intensive examination of possible alternatives, a measure that would shape German professional football for the next 20 years must under no circumstances be implemented.” The three Cologne officials emphasized that from their point of view “good alternatives” give. They brought about a sale of the Bundesliga naming rights or a new one “exclusive kick-off time” in the game. “You don’t have to like either of these examples, but they are definitely better than an investor’s participation in the national leagues.”
Other conceivable ways are classic bank loans or bonds. The FC board of directors describes this path as financially more favourable. The money raised in one of the ways outlined could be used to advance the digitization and internationalization planned by the DFL, which the FC “fundamentally support”. DFL interim managing director Axel Hellmann (Eintracht Frankfurt) and DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke (Borussia Dortmund) recently rejected external financing – for example via loans.
Cologne warns: Investor would demand decisive co-determination
The management of 1. FC Köln warned that from their point of view there was a risk of co-determination by the investor. “The ‘red lines’ often quoted by the DFL, which are intended to prevent the investor from having too much co-determination, will hardly be tenable from the start.”, the letter says. It is common for private equity investors to influence their investments directly or through lobbying in the background. “It simply does not correspond to reality that a private equity investor gives the DFL up to two billion euros without demanding decisive co-determination.”
The Cologne board also criticized the planned money distribution similar to the existing TV key, according to which the top clubs get more than the clubs at the bottom of the table. “The inequalities that already exist in sporting competition would not only be cemented, but further reinforced.”
Criticism of the schedule: “It seems downright absurd”
FC also criticized the fact that a decision on how to proceed should be made on May 24th. The two interim managing directors Hellmann and Oliver Leki (SC Freiburg) will be leaving their posts in the foreseeable future. “Starting the largest ‘restructuring project’ in the history of German professional football in such a transitional phase without an established management seems downright absurd.”writes the FC board.
It is a core problem of professional football that often only until the next season, the next term, the next contract extension is thought. But you have to contribute to a healthy long-term development of German football. “A large number of clubs in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga see it the same way”according to the people of Cologne. “That shows us the positive response to our attitude.” The fan protests are further evidence of this. At the weekend, many fan scenes again protested against the entry of an investor.
Mönchengladbach fans with a clear “no” to the DFL investor deal
St. Pauli also publicly criticized the actions of the DFL
In addition to the Cologne team, FC St. Pauli recently publicly criticized the DFL project. He could not agree to the current plans, said club president Oke Göttlich on NDR. Even as a member of the DFL Executive Committee, he said he had not received any answers to many fundamental questions.
Like the people of Cologne, he called for more time and more detailed information in order to also discuss alternative models. That’s why he wants to apply for the decision to be relocated, said Göttlich. The process is also “not fully transparent”. Several third division clubs also criticized that their interests were not sufficiently taken into account.
Supporters: Deal is necessary in competition with other leagues in Europe
Representatives of other clubs, on the other hand, had expressed their approval. In addition to Watzke (Borussia Dortmund), Hellmann (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Leki (SC Freiburg), representatives of Union Berlin and VfL Bochum, for example, spoke out in favor of an investor’s participation.
The proponents claim that funds need to be raised to make the Bundesliga digitally future-proof and to be able to compete with other leagues in Europe. The corona crisis also had significant financial consequences. Again and again, the DFL leadership affirmed that the investor’s influence on important decisions such as the schedule design is contractually excluded.
DFL plan: Two billion euros, a large part of it for the clubs
The DFL is planning to set up a subsidiary to bundle the TV rights there, which make up a large part of the income. The core of the plan is as follows:
- An investor pays the league two billion euros.
- for that 12.5 percent of the proceeds for 20 years from the sale of the rights of this subsidiary are left to the partner.
- The goal: Overall revenue should increase and bring a lasting profit for everyone in addition to the billion payment.
40 percent of the money, which the investor pays, should remain with the DFL in order to promote the internationalization and digitization of the league. The most important element is the establishment and maintenance of a video platform to address a younger and international audience. In terms of foreign marketing, for example, the Bundesliga clearly lags behind the Spanish league.
60 percent of the money should go to the clubs in different ways. According to the DFL, a large part should flow earmarked into infrastructural measures at the clubs and cannot be freely put into the player squad or into debt reduction. That depends on the condition of the infrastructure of the individual clubs – those who need little or no infrastructural measures can use the remaining money freely. The money distribution should be based on the usual distribution according to the well-known TV key, in which the top clubs get more money and the clubs in the lower range less money. In addition, money from the possible business should be used to compensate for the missing income that goes to the investor.
In 2021, the DFL had pursued plans for the entry of an investor for the first time, but the majority of the 36 clubs voted against the project at the time.