Frankfurt – Main – The message from DFB boss Fritz Keller for Easter was clear. “For many of our 25,000 clubs, it is simply a question of existence,” wrote the President of the German Football Association in an open letter to the more than 2.2 million players in the country.
We are experiencing difficult times, many things are unfamiliar and new, many cuts are painful. In the past years, we were looking forward to the upcoming Easter. Easter 2020 will be different.
Even for the professional sector, the 63-year-old Keller fears the coronavirus pandemic will have dramatic consequences. “I don’t think that the football landscape will be the same after the Corona crisis as it is today,” said Keller
the TV broadcaster Phoenix. “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. Keller does not rule out that one of the other clubs in the elite class of German football could also 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 DFB president.
The German Football League, therefore, wants to restart the game operation, which was initially suspended until April 30, as soon as possible with ghost games, to secure at least the TV funds of around 330 million euros still outstanding for this season. The trend for a continuation of the football season goes according to “Bild” information on May 9th. A decision has not yet been made, it said. On April 17, the 36 professional clubs will discuss this at the DFL general meeting.
There are different views on this from the clubs. Union Berlin President Dirk Zingler warned of a premature resumption of gaming. “If we disconnect ourselves from social perception, we are not doing ourselves a favor,” said the 55-year-old in a video interview on the website of the rising star: “We should find an appointment that has social acceptance. The children should go to school first.
For Martin Kind, majority shareholder of the second division Hannover 96, an early continuation of the season would be a positive “signal for the population”. In the “NDR Sportclub”, the 75-year-old emphasized on Thursday: “In May, I think we will start.”
The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach cannot imagine that at all. Lauterbach told the news magazine “Spiegel” that he was “very skeptical that by May we will have a waterproof system that is coordinated with the municipalities”. He also sees the danger of a lack of social acceptance for a special way in professional football. “We are then quickly in a situation in which it is argued that an extra sausage is fried for football because the politicians fear the anger of the fans,” warned Lauterbach.
Aborting the season is currently not an option in paid football – not even in the 3rd division. The 20 clubs agreed on this at their management conference on April 9th. May 16 was considered as a possible date for the resumption of play. These are “currently only business games that depend on many external factors,” the “Bild” newspaper quoted a DFB spokesman.
Unlike the DFL for the federal leagues, the DFB has extended the time frame for a conclusion of the 2019/20 season from the 3rd league to the lowest amateur classes beyond June 30th. However, ghost games would “bring many third and fourth division teams to financial ruin relatively quickly,” warned Rot-Weiss Essen club boss Marcus Uhlig in the “Sportbuzzer” interview (Friday).
No wonder that DFB boss Keller paints a bleak picture, especially for amateur football. Many clubs down to the circular leagues are at great risk. He, therefore, made an urgent appeal to politicians: “Sport will help the community to return to normal after the crisis, but we need support in this. It is essential that the administrative aid can be used by the clubs as quickly and as simply as possible.
The “DFB, which is often portrayed as being so rich,” itself cannot provide financial aid. “For two reasons. First: The DFB must not compensate for the loss of income of clubs with grants or loans, »wrote Keller. “Secondly, the DFB would not have the means to adequately cover the needs of around 25,000 clubs.”
To cushion the impending crash of many clubs in the four highest division from the Bundesliga to the regional leagues, the DFL and DFB have already adjusted the framework conditions for a license and suspended the mandatory nine-point deduction in the event of bankruptcy for this season. Keller, therefore, ended his open letter with a small message of hope: «We will hold out this time, the ball will roll again, football will come back. Certainly!”
