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Protest poster of fans of 1. FC Union Berlin
Photo: Andreas Gora / dpa
The billion-dollar deal has collapsed: The controversial investor entry into the German Football League (DFL) has failed due to massive resistance from within its own ranks. At the meeting of the 36 professional clubs on Wednesday in Frankfurt/Main, the necessary two-thirds majority for the start of negotiations with potential donors was missed. This was stated by meeting participants after the end of the meeting.
Thus, the skeptics around the club management of 1st FC Cologne and FC St. Pauli have prevailed. The critics, which also include numerous fan groups, had denounced the possible influence of a financier and the further cementing of the sporting balance of power. Recently revealed details of the planned agreement suggested exactly that.
The failed plan looked like this: An investor should have acquired 12.5 percent of the shares of a DFL subsidiary, into which the entire media rights would have been outsourced, over 20 years. Through the sale, the league hoped for proceeds of two billion euros. At another meeting in early or mid-July, the selected donor should have been awarded the contract.
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