The world is in crisis. Corona has had the planet firmly under control for many months, and the view into the future is more uncertain than ever before.
This also applies to football, which has to face unexpected challenges not only because of the pandemic. For this reason, a project was launched in Germany last October to deal with the future of the rolling ball.
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We are talking about the “Future of Professional Football” task force, which recently presented 17 recommendations for action for German clubs. The focus was on sustainability and economic stability. There has already been massive criticism from the fan side.
Since its inception, the working group of the German Football League (DFL), which consists of 37 experts from the fields of sport, society, politics and business, has dealt with the future of German professional football. Among others, DFB director Oliver Bierhoff, SPD general secretary Lars Klingbeil, Green politician Cem Özdemir, anti-corruption fighter Sylvia Schenk and the former Sky boss Carsten Schmidt, who now determines the fortunes of Hertha BSC, were there.
Fans welcome the introduction of the task force
The first results have now been scrutinized in a representative survey. In the Bundesliga barometer, an overwhelming majority of the 5,028 people questioned supported the introduction of the task force (95.3%).
The involvement of a wide range of representatives from the Bundesliga and their environment was also welcomed by 87.2 percent. So far so good. However, 63.1 percent of the fans are of the opinion that the voice of the football supporters is not sufficiently represented by some representatives of fan organizations in the task force.
The respondents were also asked to evaluate the taskforce’s 17 recommendations for action in detail. At the fore are the measures for “long-term promotion of young talent”. On a scale from one to five (one = very important, 5 = not important), this aspect was rated with an average of 1.41. Closely followed by the “regulation of the gaming industry” (1.42).
The top clubs’ other recommendations for action suggested by the task force were also rated at least “important”.
50 + 1 and investments least important
For example, fans can get excited about a working group on “Strengthening the Economic Stability of Clubs”, which was given an importance of 1.75. The promotion of youth football (including women) was also important (1.76).
What was least important to the survey participants was the “evaluation of structures for controlled strategic investments within the framework of 50 + 1”. A value of 2.23 was achieved here.
The taskforce’s 17 recommendations for action and their assessment in the Bundesliga barometer at a glance:
Measures for the long-term promotion of young talent: 1.41
Gaming Agent Industry Regulation: 1.42
Working group to strengthen the economic stability of clubs: 1.75
Provision of advice for (youth) players and their families: 1.76
Basic commitment to sustainability in German professional football: 1.79
DFL commission to intensify the dialogue with a wide variety of fan groups: 1.80
Elaboration of criteria for a constructive club-fan dialogue: 1.85
Development of a set of values, code of conduct and human rights concept: 1.88
Partnerships with a focus on sustainable and responsible action and management: 2.02
Promotion of women’s football: 2.04
Creation of an instance to regularly review the implementation of the Task Force recommendations for action: 2.15
Campaigns for better visibility and recognition of social and community engagement: 2.16
International reforms to strengthen economic stability in cooperation with politics: 2.17
Promotion of women in football: 2.19
Strengthening cross-cutting knowledge sharing between leagues and clubs: 2.20
Establishment of a sustainability and responsibility committee: 2.21
Evaluation of structures for controlled strategic investments within the framework of 50 + 1: 2.23
The Bundesliga barometer by Prof. Dr. Alfons Madeja in Nuremberg is one of the oldest and most reliable survey initiatives in sport. More information is available from this link: https://bundesligabarometer.de/registrieren
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