The German football league known as the Bundesliga, along with the German footballing association the DFB, have helped carve out a special relationship between football club and fan which is unique from any other league in Europe.
German football clubs must adhere to the ‘50+1’ rule that was introduced in 1999. This ruling affords fans of any German club a 51% majority stake in the football club, whilst other external stakeholders must not exceed 49%. This essentially places the fans with a powerful position within the club, something that is rare for many clubs in the Premier League, for instance.
Fans are able to vote on ticket prices, commercial sponsorships, firings of people in positions of power and much more. This gives German football fans an intimacy and close bond with the club they support, and this is evident on matchdays.
Betway went to Germany to discover what makes the Bundesliga so special, in particular for the fans.
Hertha BSC’s Dedyrck Boyata and Stevan Jovetić spoke on the importance the role fans have on the clubs in Germany.
“You can see that people only live for football – football is part of the culture,” remarks Boyata.
“Anything you hear outside of the pitch, outside of the stadium, it’s about the football,” commented Jovetić.
Players from Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart and more from Hertha BSC speak to Betway on the quality of the Bundesliga and why it is so special to them.
