Ahead of the winter break, Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga clubs will be hoping for a late Christmas present of a large cash injection when they meet on Monday to vote on the revised investor plan, the original plan was rejected in May.
The aim is to outsource 8% of the league’s media rights to subsidiaries, allowing partners to invest between €900m-€1bn over several years. The partners will be allowed to sell these rights for more money after a holding period but the DFL has veto power over certain groups such as sovereign wealth funds. After 20 years, the rights will be owned fully by the league.
The DFL hopes to invest €600m to generate more money from the international market. Some examples of the ways they hope to achieve this include a streaming platform, a way to protect against digital piracy and the setting up of further international offices.
Some clubs believe that it is possible to achieve all of this with internal financing, whether that be with increased sponsors or other ways, thus bypassing the need for external investors.
Kicker has surveyed the 36 clubs and how they intend to vote in the meeting on Monday.
14 teams intend to vote in favour of the plan: Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen, Heidenheim, Wolfsburg, Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Paderborn and Hannover. While Schalke and Greuther Fürth have released statements stating their intentions.
Köln and Freiburg intend to vote against the plan, while Osnabrück will abstain, which is equivalent to a no in this type of vote.
16 clubs have yet to provide their point of view: Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Bochum, Union Berlin, Darmstadt, Hansa Rostock, Nuremberg, Holstein Kiel, Wehen Wiesbaden, Hamburg, Eintracht Braunschweig, Kaiserslautern, Elversberg, Magdeburg, Hertha Berlin and St. Pauli. While Mainz, Augsburg, Düsseldorf and Karlsruhe have yet to meet to make a decision.
For the plan to take action 24 teams (2/3 majority) will need to vote in favour of the plan.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
