DFL investor proposal falls to resilient few
Wednesday presented itself as a landmark moment for all 36 member clubs of the Deutsche Fussball League (DFL) as they voted on whether the leagues should enter a multi-billion dollar partnership with a private equity investor. A vote which has been heavily criticised by fan groups, as the lack of information presented to fans and the potential damage such investment could cause had many sceptical about the deal itself.
For the investment to be approved, the DFL bosses decided a two-thirds majority would be required to be passed. So one must question, would the investment being sold to the clubs and fans be beneficial to German football as a whole. Or was it masquerading behind questionable intentions that would only benefit the elites of the Bundesliga.
Let’s take a deep dive at the situation at hand and figure out why the vote didn’t get the majority.
The investment
German football as a whole is at a bit of a cross-roads. From trying to grow the game internationally, the DFL has made some headway, but not enough to close the gap to the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga. In wanting to promote what makes the Bundesliga great, the fans, the DFL seeks investment to help improve the infrastructure of the league as a whole and its member clubs. It also hopes through investment, the league can become more marketable to an international audience.
The candidates Advent, Blackstone, and CVC would be entitled to 12.5% of the profits generated by "DFL MediaCo," a subsidiary firm established to oversee and distribute the Bundesliga's television broadcasting rights. This arrangement would span a duration of 20 years.
This would also include the ability to veto important decisions democratically voted by the DFL member clubs. A massive lever that is only beneficial to the investors, whose intentions will be profit driven and mightn’t be in the best interests of the clubs and their fans.
The clubs would receive 45% of the investment towards improving their infrastructure and facilities, 40% goes to improving the clubs marketing and 15% to invest in players and however the clubs see fit. However, the waters start to become murky when you acknowledge that clubs like Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RaBa Leipzig already possess world class facilities.
What benefit would such investment be for those three clubs?
Simple. Power, control and continuing the monopoly over German football. Continuing the trend of dominance and avoiding outcomes in which are unpredictable. In term, making the rest of the competition weaker whilst strengthening their position in domestic and European competition.
This is where one of the problems with the investment comes to a head. German football has a massive issue with how it redistributes the TV rights money with all 36 DFL clubs. Clubs that play in Europe receive massive compensations for their participation, on top of finishing high in the Bundesliga. Providing an advantage that many clubs just can’t compete with.
The investment was set to use the same payment parameters as the TV rights. Meaning the Bundesliga’s most wealthiest clubs continue to profit whilst the rest struggle to make progress, aka: surviving.
Clubs who are promoted from the 2. Bundesliga are at a significant financial disadvantage when they gain promotion. Thus, more often than not, they are relegated within the first two seasons of their promotion to the top flight.
What we know about the vote
The vote concluded on Wednesday with the yes vote failing to accumulate the two-thirds majority to get up. 20 votes were in favour of the vote, 11 said no and 5 abstained from the process. Unfortunately we don’t know who exactly said yes thanks to VfL Bochum requesting a secret ballet. Take that information however you wish.
Following the vote, Borussia Dortmund’s Hans-Joachim Watzke, current interim executives at the DFL Axel Hellmann and Oliver Leki spoke to the media. It would be fair to say that the press conference went as well as a warm glass of milk. Watzke, in particular showed high-levels of disdain towards the no vote, again, take that however you wish.
Hellman was critical of the 16 clubs who voted against or abstained from the voting process, “Those who voted against [the proposal] need to answer the question: where is the Bundesliga going to get its security and stability from in future?”. Finances are important without question, however, one must question whether Hellman is willing to sell out his own fans for potential financial gain? We can only speculate what Hellman’s club Eintracht Frankfurt would have voted for.
Clubs such as 1. FC Köln, VfB Stuttgart and FC St. Pauli have been very vocal in opposition to voting for the yes vote. St. Pauli president Oke Gottlich, who in many ways has become the voice for 2. Bundesliga clubs called for a postponement of the vote. “The result and the lively debates show that there is evidently still a lot of explaining to be done and questions to be answered. It is of central importance that all clubs are given the time and space to fully understand the implications of such a deal, which wasn't available here.”
With all the discourse on the no vote, who wins?
A temporary win for football fans
For the thousands of German football fans who protested this investment, it is a massive but potentially temporary victory for them. Those whose clubs have stood by their fans, there is an element of vindication knowing that the board members who are voted in yearly through a democratic voting process at their clubs general meetings have paved the path of righteousness.
Members of those clubs who voted yes, they will justly feel cheated out of their right to hold a fair opinion and that their club doesn’t value what they have to say. This is why 50+1 stands in place, members of a club have a right to air concerns with the direction of the club.
Voting yes, in many ways opens up the conversation for the removal of 50+1 once again and following the road created by English football. Which has seen many clubs blaze a trail of bankruptcy and insolvency, becoming the very soulless consumers of the game that used to be ours.
German football isn’t that, entertaining this concept destroys the uniqueness the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga has over the other major European leagues.
Separation seems imminent
With such a divisive topic causing such a response from those who faced the press following the vote, division within DFL is all but certain. The 2. Bundesliga clubs produced the most opposition to the investment, with the belief that the compensation put forward would put them further behind. Especially with promoted sides already having such a financial disadvantage, that includes those promoted from the 3. Liga.
In such division, there is the possibility that the DFL drops the 2. Bundesliga entirely and have the Bundesliga as its stand alone league. The DFB would be forced to pick up the 2. Bundesliga, creating a similar model we see in England. In which the Premier League is run separately from the English Football League.
This would be dire option however, as the financial disparities between clubs in the first and second division would become vast.
My thoughts
German football needs to ask itself these question. Do we want a marketable league that is competitive with a vast array of teams being able to compete for the title and European spots? Or, do we want to follow the same road used in England and Spain?
To the latter, I’m self-aware of Bayern’s dominance over the Bundesliga.
A competitive league is a marketable league, regardless of how well Bayern Munich performs in the UEFA Champions League. The league has been uncompetitive for so long, and if it wasn’t for Bayern self-destructing, they would’ve walked to an 11th consecutive Bundesliga title. But alas, we have a title battle in the top division.
Investment is important, with more money to play with there are the advantages of improving the overall product. Such as introducing semi-automated offsides to help speed up the VAR offside process, goal-line technology in the 2. Bundesliga and creating an immersive broadcast package for an international audience.
However,
The investment opportunity presented to the 36 DFL member clubs wasn’t one of good intentions for all involved. It was one that would only benefit a select few clubs who already have all the riches, whilst providing only temporary relief for the rest. This solution would have only further increased the imbalance of the league, ensuring that the top teams monopoly of the Bundesliga continues.
With the best fans in the world, the DFL runs the risk of alienating its best asset.
And, without fans, the DFL has nothing.