Germany’s 50+1 rule tends to be brought up whenever the lines of football, power,
politics and greed begin to blur.
An example of this is the thwarted attempt by 12 clubs to start an exclusive European
Super League. Six teams from the Premier League joined the most powerful members of La Liga
and Serie A to try and create a closed competition which would line their pockets at the expense
of tradition, fairness and sporting integrity.
German clubs were not involved. There were a number of reasons for this, including the
50+1 rule. It is an integral part of the German game, and affects everything from ticket prices
and safe standing to club presidential elections.
But how does it work, and could it be implemented in the Premier League? Let's start with the
basics.
Germany’s 50+1 rule states that football clubs must hold a majority of their own voting
rights. Members - the actual fans themselves - enjoy a 51% voting majority when it comes
to any and all decisions. Commercial investors can make suggestions, but unless fans get
behind them, nothing can happen.
An example of this would be Hannover's recent ousting of club president Martin Kind, who
was forced to step down in 2019 after the then-Bundesliga club's 2,100 members voted
to replace him. Kind was deemed to be too powerful by the fanbase, who took action to
install a new supervisory board that they felt would have their best interests at heart.
Kind remains the club's chief financial backer, but his ability to make big decisions has
been reduced.
Compare this to the Premier League, where supporters have almost no say over the way
their clubs are run. Fans of Newcastle and Manchester United have long protested the
direction greedy owners have taken their clubs in, but they are unable to influence matters
at board level. Essentially, unless these investors decide to sell up, fans are stuck
with them.
“50+1 is a very important aspect of German football,” Tobi Altschaeffl, Chief reporter
at German outlet SportBild explains to FourFourTwo. “It’s rooted in our footballing traditions,
and is the reason we have such strong fan groups in this country. We recently saw, with
the proposed European Super League plans, just how much Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich,
and in fact all of the Bundesliga clubs, value these traditions.
“The 50+1 rule didn’t directly prevent German teams participating in the European
Super League,” he continues. “But the outcry among fans was clear and football in
this country lives and dies on the opinion of fans. Of course, it never got that far,
but the fans could have stopped it.”
In short, the 50+1 rule is the reason ticket prices remain low, stadiums stay full, flags,
banners and choreos are permitted in grounds, alcohol is sold on the terraces and the traditions
of clubs are upheld and respected by those at the top.
There are some, even within German football, who oppose the 50+1 rule. The main reason
for this is that it deters new investors to a league which has become uncompetitive, and
struggled to attract overseas fans. Why should billionaire owners sink their cash into Bundesliga
clubs if they don’t even get to make the rules?
How is any team expected to loosen Bayern’s grip on the Bundesliga title, people ask,
if they can’t compete financially? Bayern are an unstoppable force as things stand,
but not even they could compete with a club bankrolled by a Middle Eastern state.
If, say, Freiburg were taken over by Sheikh Mansour tomorrow, Bayern would feel far less
certain of a tenth straight Bundesliga title next season. People argue it would be good
for competition, and in turn give the league greater exposure. After all, nobody wants
to watch a one horse race.
The Premier League is a far better bet for new investors. It's highly competitive, with
five different clubs crowned champions over the past decade. Meanwhile, Roman Abramovich,
Chelsea’s billionaire Russian owner, has the power to do as he pleases with the club
he bought for £140 million in 2003. He could bulldoze the stadium, change the crest and
appoint himself manager if he wanted. From the fans’ side, that would be awful, but
ask investors which option they’d choose.
While adhering to 50+1 is compulsory for any team competing in DFL competitions, some have
found ways to circumvent it.
Bundesliga clubs, including Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim, have drawn ire
from opposition fans for being majority-owned by commercial investors. The owners of these
clubs were granted the lion’s share of control after proving their financial responsibility
over a 20-year period, the minimum timeframe required to do so. Even still, flouting the
sacred 50+1 rule is considered a serious breach of trust by many German football fans and
these clubs are deemed to have crossed a line.
The biggest offender, however, is RB Leipzig. Known as SSV Markranstadt as recently as 2009,
the former fourth-tier side is now operating under a different name, in different colours,
in a new stadium, while playing in the Champions League.
Technically speaking, Leipzig do follow the rules, but the way they go about things is
questionable. While other Bundesliga clubs have memberships made up of thousands of fans
- hundreds of thousands in some cases - Leipzig have around 20 members, all of which work
for the energy drinks brand.
“RB Leipzig are labelled a “plastic club” - a marketing tool for Red Bull,” explains
Altschaeffl. “They have a lot of critics in Germany despite their on-field success.
They have great players, but they don’t have a proper fan culture, with passionate
ultras, because they’ve bought their success and not earnt it. They are not tuned-in to
the football culture in this country.”
Supporters have started calling for the implementation of a 50+1 rule in English football, particularly
in the wake of the European Super League debacle.
English fans feel increasingly out of touch with the clubs they support, with the ESL
saga proof that owners are more interested in cash than legacy.
Soaring ticket prices are also a problem. The most expensive season ticket in the Bundesliga
costs £202; charged by Paderborn. That’s more than £100 cheaper than the cheapest
in the Premier League - at West Ham United - and around £2,000 cheaper than the priciest,
at Tottenham Hotspur.
Bundesliga fan groups believe a similar 50+1 rule could help reconnect disgruntled fans
with Premier League clubs.
“I think it could be one brick in a big wall,” Alexander Fischer from Club No.12
– a Bayern Munich fan group - told the Press Association this week. “It would be a good
start to bring back the football to the people.”
Those in favour of implementing the rule will be buoyed by news that the British government
is exploring ways in which fans could have greater influence in the national game.
This week, Boris Johnson went as far as to announce “a root-and-branch investigation
into the governance of football and the role of fans in that governance.”
Meanwhile, Sport & Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden noted that “German leagues have a
different governance structure” before claiming it would be “right” to look at how those
ideas could be adopted. With football clubs unlikely to implement these changes themselves,
it may take government intervention to push through a 50+1 rule in the UK. Whether or
not they're willing to do that is anyone's guess.
The European Super League's demise has proved what can be done if fans stand as one. English
football remains a very long way from the German model, but recent events may prove
to be the first en route to something our Bundesliga counterparts value above all: the
right to have their say.