Football in Germany enjoys widespread popularity due to its top-tier play, the highest average attendances in world football, affordable ticket prices, and a vibrant fan culture. A significant factor contributing to this is the 50+1 ownership rule.
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke famously once said in 2016 via the Bundesliga website:
“The German spectator traditionally has close ties with his club, and if he gets the feeling that he’s no longer regarded as a fan but instead as a customer, we’ll have a problem.”
The 50+1 rule safeguards this – the rule refers to the requirements that club members hold 50 percent plus one additional vote of the voting rights to ensure a majority. Essentially, it means that clubs, and consequently, the fans retain the final say in their management, rather than external influences or investors.
According to the German Football League (DFL) regulations, football clubs are prohibited from participating in the Bundesliga or the second division if external investors hold the majority control.
Essentially, this means that private or commercial investors cannot take control of clubs and implement measures prioritising profit over supporters’ interests. The regulation protects against irresponsible owners and preserves the democratic traditions of German clubs.
Historically, German football clubs were non-profit institutions managed by member associations, and private ownerships was entirely prohibited until 1998. The introduction of the 50+1 rule that year helps explain why debts and wages are kept in check and why ticket prices remain significantly lower compared to other major European leagues.
It should be noted that clubs have adapted to these changes in different ways, resulting in various forms of member ownership. Many Bundesliga teams are legally structured as limited or joint-stock companies, established as subsidiaries of the main club, which often includes other sports departments and/or women’s teams, to manage the men’s first team. Some of these companies are even publicly traded. Clubs in leagues below the DFL-regulated Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 also follow similar approaches, partly to ensure compliance in the event of promotion.
Using Bayern Munich as an example, the shareholders of the men’s first team (FC Bayern München AG) are the members’ club (FC Bayern München e.V. – 75%), Adidas (8.3%), Allianz (8.3%) and Audi (8.3%). With Bayern’s now 300,000+ members being the largest membership of any sports club in the world, it is not difficult to comprehend why they are one of the well structured football clubs in the world, by primarily being debt-free which German clubs are.
In Germany, discussions of financial issues or Financial Fair Play violations are virtually non-existent, whereas news of economic struggles and FFP sanctions is common in other European leagues.
German football fans have turned their passion for football and for their clubs into power and forcing change whenever they are not content with a decision such as when the DFB confirmed that Bundesliga football would be televised on Monday night, fans boycotted the initial Monday night matches, it was then cancelled by the DFB.
While private investment could elevate German football to new heights, the fans are opposed to it.
It’s the fans and their principles that make football in Germany so special. The 50+1 rule may appear outdated in the modern era, but it’s a model that many fans have advocated for in other places. Football is for the fans, and in Germany, things are as they should be.
The 50+1 rule would greatly benefit the decisions and the structure of football in the Isuzu UTE A-League men’s and Liberty A-League women’s with all the controversy that has plagued the game over the years. If there is transparency and communication between member fans and the clubs hierarchy, it would put the priority of fans to the top as they are the most important aspect of where the revenue comes from and would improve the decision making process.
For members of an A-League team, they are essentially ticket holders with some additional rights and privileges that non-members lack. However, these do not involve any participation in the club’s management.
From the football landscape in Australia where the fans are often unhappy with the relationship between them and their club’s ownership, German football seems to have got that blend working positively.
