Name change for the 2026/27 season
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The squad costs of the 36 clubs in German professional football will be capped. In the future, clubs will be allowed to spend a maximum of 70 percent of their relevant income on personnel expenses. The first and second division teams decided this at the general meeting of the German Football League in Düsseldorf.
“It is one of the most comprehensive further developments of national financial regulations in the history of German professional football,” said DFL managing director Marc Lenz. The DFL is taking “an important step that makes sense for all clubs to ensure the future viability and financial stability of the licensed leagues.”
Full implementation of the cadre cost rule from 2028
The squad cost rule will be introduced gradually from the coming season and will be fully implemented from the 2028/29 season. It is based on the UEFA financial regulations applicable to international club competitions. The DFL said that the introduction of a transparent and clear system is intended to avoid extreme financial cases “that harm the competitive integrity and stability of the respective club and parent club.”
The umbrella organization considers the new measures to regulate deficits and promote sustainable use of funds to be necessary and will monitor implementation through comprehensive monitoring. Violations can result in monetary and sporting sanctions. These range from financial measures to point deductions to eligibility bans – a new sanction instrument under which a club is not allowed to register new players.
The aim of the squad cost rule is to strengthen the financial stability and planning ability of the clubs without reducing national competitive dynamics or international competitiveness. “German professional clubs operate very rationally compared to international standards,” said league president Hans-Joachim Watzke. However, it is “necessary to further tighten financial regulations.”
Name change: DFL becomes Bundesliga
The German Football League is also ditching its name and becoming the Bundesliga. From the coming season, the name of the league association and the league organization will be aligned with the competition brand and changed from DFL eV or DFL GmbH to Bundesliga eV or Bundesliga GmbH. The first and second division clubs decided this unanimously at the general meeting.
The aim of the name change is, among other things, to further emphasize the structural unity of German professional football and to achieve a clearer demarcation from the German Football Association. The Bundesliga also hopes for better perception of its brand both in sports policy discourse and in global marketing.
