Frankfurt / Main – The fear of dramatic consequences for German football from the coronavirus pandemic is increasing. “I don’t think that the football landscape will be the same after the Corona crisis as it is today,” said DFB boss Fritz Keller to the Phoenix TV station.
“We will miss some, and I think the longer it goes, the more bankruptcies we will have in professional football.” According to the “kicker”, 13 of the 36 clubs from the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga are said to be at risk of insolvency. FC Schalke 04 already informed its fans that the club was “currently facing a potentially existential economic situation”. “The situation is very serious and critical,” said Alexander Jobst, marketing director and board member, on Wednesday evening in a live chat with supporters of the Bundesliga club.
The Bundesliga bottom lights SC Paderborn are slowly getting down to business. “We can delay that for a month or two, but then we run out of the air,” said Managing Director Martin Przondziono in an interview with Sport1. “If the TV money does not end up with us, it will be tight for us.”
Keller does not rule out that even in the elite class of German football one or the other clubs will be affected by a bankruptcy. «The calls for help are serious and very serious. Unfortunately, the longer it goes on that game operations cannot continue, we will have to experience this scenario. In the second division anyway and in the third division it looks worse, »said the President of the German Football Association.
And the 63-year-old also painted a dark picture for amateur football. Many clubs down to the district leagues are at great risk. “They have to be helped,” said Keller and appealed to the politicians: “You have to see whether you want to leave the entire system alone.”
In order to cushion the impending crash of many clubs in the four highest divisions from the Bundesliga to the regional leagues, the German Football League and the DFB have adjusted the economic framework conditions for a license and the mandatory nine-point deduction in the event of bankruptcy for them Season suspended.
However, this could lead to clubs going into bankruptcy. Corresponding considerations already exist for the second division club Karlsruher SC and third division club 1. FC Kaiserslautern. “The bankruptcy in self-administration of course also offers an opportunity for companies and associations that had previously had problems with a haircut,” insolvency expert Matthias Hofmann told the “kicker” (Thursday).
According to sports economist Daniel Weimar from the University of Duisburg-Essen, this threatens to distort competition. “Because the sporting consequences are now breaking down, this could be an advantage for all clubs that have recently taken a high risk,” Weimar recently told the “Tagesspiegel”.
