According to the German Football League (DFL), the Bundesliga clubs should save between 15 and 20 percent energy in order to make their contribution to society in the crisis. The clubs themselves are thinking – also about a possible change in the schedule.
In the course of the Russian war of aggression in the Ukraine and the resulting drastically rising costs for energy, the league association made this recommendation to the clubs after a presidium meeting. However, “the very different conditions at the individual locations should be taken into account”, for example with a view to “ownership of stadiums and the types of energy used in each case”, explained the DFL and announced regular joint meetings with the 36 clubs in the Bundesliga and the second division on this topic on.
Rettig: “Professional football must also make its contribution”
The discussion about the energy crisis and its effects has been going on for weeks. Andreas Rettig, former manager of FC St. Pauli, recently commented on this. “If energy rationing is currently being considered and households have to use it more sparingly, then professional football must also play its part,” he said.
For him it is incomprehensible “when the lawn heating and the floodlights are running at full speed in winter”. According to Rettig, an oil-powered lawn heating consumes around 2,000 liters of heating oil a day: “That’s about as much as a single-family house in a whole year. I think that you really have to rethink and be prepared here.”
Clubs design different scenarios
Various scenarios are also being discussed in the clubs. Where is there potential for savings when energy prices rise and the supply situation worsens? How can power guzzlers such as lawn heating, floodlights and air conditioning be tamed? One of the most conspicuous measures before autumn, and with it more seriousness, concerns the lighting of the stadiums. For example, FC Bayern Munich only switches on the red outdoor lighting of its arena three hours after dark instead of the previous six. The Borussia Park in Mönchengladbach is no longer illuminated in green every day, but only on the day of the match.
But there are complex problems. Some clubs like Eintracht Frankfurt or 1. FC Köln are just tenants, while others like Werder Bremen and VfB Stuttgart are co-owners. As a result, they can only push measures independently to a limited extent.
Limit floodlight use?
In addition, there are the framework conditions currently prescribed by the television contracts, according to which the floodlights must be switched on even during the day to ensure consistent quality of the TV transmissions. A minimum level of brightness is also required for the functionality of the goal-line technology using the floodlights. A model test at Karlsruher SC, in which the LED headlights stayed off halfway through, went smoothly according to initial assessments.
DFL Managing Director Donata Hopfen recently warned against “symbolic politics” in dealing with the German professional clubs in the wake of the energy crisis. It is important to “keep it moderate,” said Hopfen in mid-August on the sidelines of the DFL General Assembly in Dortmund.
Majority of Germans for changing the schedule
In order to save energy costs for the Bundesliga, a clear majority of Germans would support switching the game operations to one season from spring to autumn. 34 percent see “definitely” as the right way, 27 percent answered “rather yes” to a corresponding question. According to a representative survey by the opinion research institute “Yougov”, 17 percent of Germans are opposed to a changed seasonal rhythm.
Union President Zingler: Scandinavia as a role model
President Dirk Zingler from Bundesliga club Union Berlin supports the changeover ideas. “We will have to consider whether we don’t want to play between May and August in the future and no longer in winter,” Zingler told the “Berliner Zeitung”. According to Zingler, an adjustment to the calendar would ease the financial situation somewhat, since the expenses for operating lighting and heating would be reduced. As a role model, he named the Scandinavian leagues, where football is suspended in winter.
This topic in the program:
Sports current | 06.09.2022 | 12:25 p.m
