Before the decision on investor entry into German professional football, the fan alliance Unser Kurve once again denounced the lack of involvement of club members.
The fans’ group announced shortly before the vote that the “lack of time and short-termism” would “artificially increase the pressure on those voting massively”: “Information papers were only sent to the clubs in the last few weeks.” A “sensible, transparent and in-depth discussion” of the issue was therefore “simply impossible”.
The consequence is that “once again only a few initiated people are involved. A critical process in the sense of member-led associations is massively made more difficult or impossible,” continues “Our Curve.”
The approach bypassing the members represents “a notable break with the unique constitution of German football.” Ultimately, there was “no approval for the financing model” from the few members involved.
Fan alliance Our Curve criticizes the DFL
The financial transition movement protested again on Monday in front of the Sheraton conference hotel at Frankfurt Airport. “Our basic criticism is the private equity companies,” said Jorim Gerrard, financial transition expert for private equity, to the “SID”: “In their business model, they have maximum pressure on returns and always central co-determination, which the fans don’t want. A partnership like this is about growth at all costs.” There are “new details in the plans” compared to the last DFL attempt, but the core problem remains.
The fan alliance Our Curve divided its criticism into three basic points. Firstly, when it comes to the “rather vague” topic of digitalization, a separate DFL streaming platform will “hardly be enough” to consider such risky financing models. Furthermore, when it comes to internationalization, Our Curve “calls into question the stated calculation of the expected increase in earnings”. The “rat race” is “neither nationally nor internationally the answer in terms of football.”
Last but not least, there is “no valid reason” why the risk of involving an investor should be taken. Rather, the alliance considers the approach to be a “fatal error in thinking. We share the assessment of some DFL members that other forms of financing must be discussed and seriously considered.”