Breathe a sigh of relief at Hertha BSC: For a long time, the financially troubled club had to fear for the license for the 2nd Bundesliga. Now the German Football League has awarded them to the Berliners. The association thus has planning security.
Hertha BSC can compete in the 2nd Bundesliga next season. This was announced by the German Football League (DFL) on Monday afternoon. According to a statement by the DFL, the Berliners have met all “financial, sporting, legal and personnel-administrative criteria” and have thus received the license required to start in the second highest German division from the league’s licensing committee. Hertha is thus spared another crash – possibly even down to the regional league – after relegation from the Bundesliga.
According to the club, it submitted the documents required for the license to the DFL on time last Wednesday. Previously, the financially ailing Berliners had a gap in coverage of around 60 million euros.
Hertha’s current management could have avoided the license thriller
Hertha BSC submitted the documents for the second division license on time. Now the anxious look goes in the direction of the DFL. It’s a thriller with an uncertain outcome. The club officials could have prevented him. By Jakob Rüger and Simon Wenzel more
New collateral for license
Hertha wants to achieve a large part of the sum by postponing the repayment of the 40 million euro bond, which is actually due in November. Creditors were asked to agree to an extension at lower interest rates by June 19. It is assumed that the Berliners had to provide the DFL with further security for the amount of the bond in advance – for example in the form of a bank guarantee or assurances from investor 777 Partners.
A month-long nail-biter ends for Hertha. In May, the “old lady” was there for the seventh time relegated from the top German division. Just under four years after investor Lars Windhorst, who invested a total of more than 370 million euros in the club, the club had to fight a lot to prove to the DFL its economic ability to act. In the meantime, 777 Partners has taken over the shares from Windhorst and is paying Hertha BSC a total of 100 million euros for further shares. Nevertheless, the financial situation remained and remains precarious.
Now the planning for the second division season at Hertha can continue. The club announced last week that that the Pal Dardai remains head coach.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, June 12, 2023, 2:15 p.m
