Football, 2nd league: “Fortuna for all” starts in Düsseldorf against 1. FC Kaiserslautern

On Saturday (October 21st, 2023) Fortuna Düsseldorf will play against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the 2nd league in front of a sold-out crowd. The special thing: no fan paid any money for their ticket. It will be the premiere for “Fortuna for All”.

One thing is certain: Fortuna Düsseldorf will make history this weekend. For the first time in professional football, all fans in the stadium will receive their tickets free of charge. While this was previously only possible through a competition or as a gift, in the future the second division team wants to fill its stadium for every league game without collecting a single cent from the people standing and sitting in the stands. The starting signal for “Fortuna for all” will be given on Saturday against 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

At the end of April, those responsible for the club around CEO Alexander Jobst presented their new concept with much fanfare and suddenly received worldwide press. In addition to all the appreciation that this project brought with it, there was also skepticism. Is this a PR stunt? Does this even have a future? This weekend shows how serious Fortuna, which won the “World Football Summit Award 2023” in the “Most Impactful Branding in Football” category for the concept, really means.

Fortuna has lost touch

“‘Fortuna for all’ is our answer to the challenges of professional football, a new business model and a concept with conviction for the Düsseldorf location”said Jobst in the sports show interview. In the past 25 years, his club has only played three seasons in the Bundesliga and has missed out on many clubs financially. And because Fortuna wants to remain a registered club and not be financed by investors, but at the same time TV income is shrinking, Jobst and Co. had to act. The result of these considerations can now be seen.

The game against Lautern will be one of three this season (which was announced as a pilot phase) in which spectators will not have to pay an entrance fee. The selection of this game is proof of how serious Düsseldorf is. “Fortuna for all” is neither a PR stunt nor a desperate attempt to fill the stadium. Because then the club would have chosen different opponents than the “Red Devils” as well as Eintracht Braunschweig and FC St. Pauli in the second half of the seasonwho always bring a lot of fans with them.

Düsseldorf wants to grow economically

Now “Fortuna for all”, and those responsible emphasize this again and again, is not a charity project either. Düsseldorf does this in order to grow economically and be successful. To finally be a permanent Bundesliga club again and not just a club that gets a taste every now and then. And that requires wealthy sponsors.

With main sponsor Targobank, Hewlett Packard and Provinzial, Düsseldorf presented the three companies in April that made the start of the project possible. They promised 45 million euros over the next five years – but one of these sponsors has already pulled out. The Provincial ended the collaboration before it started.

Club does not release any data

A painful setback for Fortuna, but another moment to make it clear that she wants to keep her word. Because: The insurance company withdrew because the Düsseldorf company refused to pass on the data of the ticket applicants. This point also triggered skepticism.

This means that Düsseldorf only has two donors (“Common Goal” is also a partner, but does not provide financial support) and many are asking themselves the question: Why has no new sponsor been found in the six months since the announcement? Jobst and Co. always point out that this is not a normal sponsorship, but much more.

In addition, many companies with whom – according to club officials – promising discussions had been held, wanted to wait and see how the premiere against Kaiserslautern went. This year, however, further partners are to be introduced, especially after a positive development.

As a tenant, Fortuna does not earn money from food and drinks

“If the city, Fortuna and companies come to the table, we will be successful – sportingly and economically. After a successful start, additional partners are needed; we are conducting the discussions“, said Jobst to the Sportschau. The Fortuna CEO has two construction sites: He is recruiting new sponsors, but is also trying to convince the city of Düsseldorf to get more rights in the stadium.

The club is only a tenant and has not yet earned anything from the income from bratwurst, beer and the like – Jobst wants to change that. But so far there has only been lip service from Mayor Stephan Keller. After all, a working group is currently dealing with the topic, and there should be fundamental changes from next season at the latest. Fortuna is supposed to make some money from the Lautern game.

Only one sold-out game since 2020

According to the club, there were 120,000 requests for tickets for the premiere. A number that initially seems enormous, but can be classified. Finally, there will also have been multiple orders – Fortuna appealed to the fans that only one person from a group of visitors tries to get tickets, but many will not have adhered to this simply in order to increase their own chances. To believe that 120,000 people wanted to attend the game would be an illusion.

But the most important thing for Fortuna is: the stadium is full. This was the case last season when Hamburger SV traveled to Düsseldorf with around 20,000 fans; before that, the club last played in a full arena in 2020. “I’ve already experienced a lot, but the teams I’ve been with so far haven’t followed a project or path like this. So I’m personally incredibly excited to see what awaits us there. The whole club is under tension“said sports director Klaus Allofs on Wednesday (October 18, 2023).