Cologne’s managing director Christian Keller has been elected to the DFL’s supervisory board. The choice for Keller was close – a proof of the polarization in the investor question.
At the general meeting of the German Football League (DFL) in Neu-Isenburg, Keller prevailed against Werder Bremen’s managing director Klaus Filbry. According to Sportschau, the 36 clubs in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 voted 18:16 in favor of the managing director of 1. FC Köln with two abstentions/no votes. Keller from the Bundesliga 2 was particularly well received.
The election became necessary after Fredi Bobic left the DFL supervisory board as part of his release from Hertha BSC. The close result for Keller is a testament to the polarization in the league in terms of investor entry.
Keller and 1. FC Köln were critical of a possible investor
Keller had recently expressed criticism. “To this day I don’t know what the German Football League actually stands for”said Keller in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “If we knew what we wanted, it would be clear, for example, whether we really need ever higher media revenues. Or whether the 1.1 billion euros per season might not be enough.”
Filbry stands for those in favor of investing in the DFL. He was sent into the race by the group of “fan-intensive clubs”. Cologne used to belong to the group, today there are nine clubs, including the Bundesliga clubs Bremen, Stuttgart, Hertha, Schalke, Bochum and Frankfurt.
| person | club | position |
|---|---|---|
Hans Joachim Watzke | Borussia Dortmund | chairman |
Oliver Leki* | Sc freiburg | deputy |
Rudiger Fritsch | Darmstadt 98 | Member |
Christian Keller | 1. FC Cologne | Member |
Stephan Schippers** | Bor. M’gladbach | Member |
Ralf Huschen*** | SC Paderborn | Member |
* Oliver Leki’s position is suspended because he has been interim managing director of the DFL together with Axel Hellmann (Eintracht Frankfurt) since Donata Hopfen’s departure
** elected by the general assembly of the Bundesliga
*** elected by the partial assembly of the 2nd Bundesliga
Werder Bremen’s managing director Klaus Filbry
Investor: What the DFL is planning
The core of the DFL plan, which the 36 clubs would have to agree to by a two-thirds majority at a meeting in April, is as follows:
- A strategic partner pays the league 2.5 to 3 billion euros.
- For this he receives for 25 to 30 years 15 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the TV rights.
- The hope: The proceeds increase overall and, in addition to the high one-off payment, there is a profit for everyone.
According to the DFL, this is expressly not about the sale of shares, but only about a minority stake in which all decision-making powers remain with the DFL. According to information from the sports show, further talks with the clubs are planned for next week.
Strategically smart or a bet on the future?
Some clubs are simply under financial pressure and are hoping for financial relief. Others can definitely get something out of the idea of the DFL. Some are hoping for a strategic profit, we are talking about financing a digital platform for better distribution of Bundesliga content around the world. It’s a big problem for the DFL: In terms of foreign marketing, the Bundesliga is lagging behind many leagues. While the Premier League is far ahead, the Bundesliga also lags behind the Spanish and Italian leagues.
Cologne board member Eckard Sauren, on the other hand, rejected the idea. “A hundred-euro note becomes an 85-euro note in the long run. The one-time payment is offset by the 15 euros that are lost for decades.”, he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. If money is missing, one can also borrow it from banks instead of pledging future income. Another reservation at some clubs is the fear that even a minority shareholder will at least try to influence important issues, such as the schedule. For many, it also remains questionable whether the hoped-for increase in value is really in the market.
The money: who gets how much and what happens to it?
Important questions remain:
- How is the money distributed? The current TV distribution key means that the top clubs receive the most money. Should such a key also apply to investor money, smaller clubs could be more opposed to it. In France, 200 million of the 1.5 billion euros were forwarded to Paris Saint-Germain in such a deal, followed by Marseille and Lyon with 90 million.
- Which clubs can benefit? It is questionable whether a club has to be a member of the DFL at a certain point in time in order to be able to benefit.
- What happens to the money? “We need a clear use of funds for future investments”, said Stuttgart’s CEO Alexander Wehrler in the kicker. This means the digital platform and other investments – instead of spending on the transfer market.
Look to Europe: Many leagues have investors
In other leagues, investments by investors are very popular, they are called “private equity”. The Spanish league sold 8.25 percent of its TV rights over 50 years to the investor CVC for almost 2 billion euros.
CVC also bought into the French Ligue 1 with 1.5 billion euros. Serie A is also looking to Wall Street for financial backing. CVC is also considered a possible candidate for a stake in the Bundesliga. Other industry giants are also in talks, and six interested parties are known.
The first attempt failed in 2021
The DFL had already tried a similar approach under managing director Christian Seifert. In May 2021, however, the General Assembly decided “not to continue the talks for the time being”. Should the current project fail again in April, a third attempt would remain questionable for the time being.