German professional football is recovering from the financial impact of the Corona pandemic.

It increased its revenue by 10.5 per cent last season compared to the previous season to 4.48 billion euros. However, the revenue is still around 325 million euros below the record revenue of 4.8 billion euros achieved by the 36 first and second division clubs in the 2018/19 season. This is according to the “Economic Report 2023” published by the German Football League (DFL) on Thursday.

A new revenue record was missed, among other reasons, because there were still restrictions on the admission of spectators last season. Therefore, revenues in this area were “only” 402 million euros – compared to 650 million in the 2018/19 season. In addition, the slightly lower revenues from the sale of German-language media rights (1.1 billion instead of 1.2 billion euros) played a role.

“In view of the figures at hand, one can speak of a slight economic recovery, but by no means of an all-clear. The Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga are still a long way from the pre-Corona level,” said DFL supervisory board boss Hans-Joachim Watzke: “The league and the clubs will have to work together to find ways to develop further, to maintain the attractiveness of the competitions and the sporting and economic competitiveness at international level, while at the same time preserving the special features of German football. “