Hans-Joachim Watzke of Borussia Dortmund and Dirk Zingler (Union Berlin) are in favor of investors in professional soccer. Otherwise, they say, the Bundesliga will “lose competitiveness.”
Borussia Dortmund’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and Union Berlin President Dirk Zingler have spoken out in favor of investors in professional soccer. “If we don’t trust ourselves as a Bundesliga to grow internationally and deal responsibly with the money of an investor – who, by the way, doesn’t get any right of co-determination – we will fall behind in the long run and lose international competitiveness,” Watzke told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
He added that “the three years of Corona cannot be ignored”: “We at BVB alone have lost 151 million euros as a result. Losses that could be compensated more easily thanks to investors: “We want and need to do something to improve our investment capacity.”
The fact that the vast majority of soccer fans are hostile to external financiers can also be explained by the fact that “the league and the clubs have not provided good information so far,” Zingler said: “We need to communicate better on this issue, because the topic of investors is not a bad one.”
He sees the debate as “hypocritical in parts.” The clubs would have to “clearly say what we’re actually up to. Because we know exactly what we don’t want – and that’s co-determination by investors. There will be no one to dictate when and where we play. “
Of course, it’s not possible to keep or buy top international stars and at the same time have standing-room tickets cost only eight euros.
Hans-Joachim Watzke
With this, Zingler was referring, among other things, to statements made by Donata Hopfen. The former head of the German Football League (DFL) had mentioned hosting the German Super Cup in Saudi Arabia as an option, which “certainly didn’t help” in the discussion about soccer’s credibility, Zingler said. For Watzke, Hoppen’s statement “of course hurt.”
Investors are also valuable with regard to top stars in the Bundesliga, Watzke emphasized: “Anyone who calls for buying and keeping stars like Haaland (Erling Haaland, editor’s note) must also know that revenues would then inevitably have to be increased.” Without outside backers, this “would probably also entail a significant increase – among other things – in ticket prices.”
“Everything would become much, much more expensive for the fans. Of course, it’s not possible to keep or buy top international stars and at the same time have the standing-room ticket cost only eight euros,” Watzke stressed.