The Bundesliga has had a big cash problem over the last years, seeing their financial power left behind in the dust by leagues such as the Premier League or La Liga. This has left the league searching for solutions to stop eating so much dust and close that gap. One of the easiest way the league can make money is eliminating the 50+1 rule, a ruling in place in the Bundesliga since the 1990s, stipulating that the club hold on to at least 51% of its’ shares and therefore remain the majority shareholder. This ruling has allowed the Bundesliga to be a fan friendly league, one allows seats in the stadium to remain affordable and for fans to retain a voting right. However, it comes at the cost of selling those shares and getting funding from certain investors.
Given the increased need for money, there is increased talk about scrapping the 50+1 rule and allowing clubs to choose for themselves. One of the voices supporting this is Bayern Munich’s Uli Hoeneß, who says that clubs other than Bayern could use this boost in revenue:
“FC Bayern is by far the healthiest club in the world financially because we’ve generated everything ourselves. We don’t have a sheikh in Abu Dhabi or a hedge fund in Boston,” Hoeneß declared proudly, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “We at FC Bayern don’t need the 50+1 rule. We’ve sold 25 percent of our shares to Adidas, Audi, and Allianz. ‘Triple A’, as I always say. If we wanted to sell more than 30 percent, we’d have to consult the members and would need a three-quarters majority. We wouldn’t get that at a general meeting. But for clubs like Mönchengladbach, which certainly have sponsors who would invest properly to improve their competitiveness in the Bundesliga, it would be incredibly helpful if sponsors or investors were also given a chance there.”
Would it be worthwhile to sell the soul of the league to increase its’ competitiveness? Should the fan experience be downgraded in order for progress to prevail?
