German regulator pushes for more fan control of soccer clubs like Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen fans cheer their team ahead the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and FC Augsburg at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, file)
DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Top German soccer clubs including Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig face the prospect of handing over more control to fans in future after a regulator intervened.
A statement Monday from Germany’s antitrust regulator, the Federal Cartel Office, said it wants to see tighter enforcement of the rule known as 50-plus-1 which requires a soccer club’s membership to have majority voting rights over how the team is run.
Why Leverkusen?
The regulator said recent European court rulings suggest permanent exemptions from 50-plus-1 for last year’s champion Leverkusen and fellow top-tier club Wolfsburg seem “no longer possible.”
It said efforts should be made in the future to ensure the club’s professional soccer operations come under the control of membership organizations, but didn’t name any deadline.
Leverkusen and Wolfsburg were founded as workers’ teams at major companies which own the clubs, with pharmaceutical giant Bayer at Leverkusen, and car manufacturer Volkswagen at Wolfsburg. Their long-term involvement led to the clubs getting exemptions from 50-plus-1.
The regulator also said the German men’s soccer league needs to ensure the clubs it oversees “offer their fans the opportunity to become a new full member with voting rights.”
That appears to affect Leipzig and its relationship with drinks giant Red Bull, though they weren’t directly named by the regulator in Tuesday’s statement.
The club was founded by Red Bull in 2009 and is part of its international network of soccer clubs. It grants voting rights to far fewer people than most German clubs. Local media reported that only 23 members had the right to vote at Leipzig as of last year.
What are they saying?
Leverkusen said in a statement that the Federal Cartel Office’s new approach was a “remarkable change of course”. The club added that it does not consider the regulator’s reasoning to be “convincing” and that it will examine the ruling and reserve all legal options.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, speaker of the league’s executive board, said it stands behind 50-plus-1, which he called “an elementary component of German soccer.”
Why does 50-plus-1 matter?
Fan control means outside investors can’t buy up German clubs outright, like they can in the English Premier League and other competitions.
It’s also one reason why Germany hasn’t seen the sort of spending sprees and dramatic shifts in competitive balance which followed takeovers at clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea or Paris Saint-Germain in the past.
Fans often argue the rule keeps clubs rooted in their communities but still allows a limited role for investment. Sportswear giant Adidas is among the minority shareholders who’ve helped member-run Bayern Munich win a string of titles, while Borussia Dortmund shares are traded on the stock market.
Fan power is a force in German soccer outside of the boardroom, too. Following protests, the league abandoned plans to sell a stake in its media rights income last year.
A long process
While the regulator’s statement may eventually change how some top clubs are run, it could take a while. The regulator has been examining German men’s soccer for around seven years now and has brought about limited changes before.
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