The decision to allow two European league games to be played abroad caused widespread consternation earlier this month.
While European football’s governors, UEFA, said it took the decision “reluctantly” on the basis they had no legal framework to stop it, there was a feeling among most fans, pundits and players that this would undermine the fabric of football still further.
“There has been absolutely universal opposition,” Martin Endemann, head of policy at Football Supporters Europe, who advocate for fans on the continent, told DW.
“We had a statement out, which was signed by 600 fan groups from 29 countries across Europe against this. In addition to that we also had the support of organizations in North America, as well as in Australia, where the games are supposed to be held.”
What is the situation with league matches abroad?
On Tuesday, Spain’s La Liga announced the planned match between Barcelona and Villarreal in the United States had been scrapped. La Liga chief Javier Tebas said the opposition to the fixture that forced the U-turn means Spanish football has “lost an opportunity to advance, project itself globally, and strengthen its future.”
As well as fan frustration, players and coaches, including Barcelona’s German coach, Hansi Flick, had expressed their opposition to the idea. Now only the Italian Serie A match between Como and AC Milan in February in Perth, Australia, remains.
The overriding motivation for playing games abroad is financial. In their statement about the match in Perth, Como cited the English Premier League’s TV rights packages as a reason that league will “dominate the global stage,” adding that: “Most clubs in Italy are not profitable. It is about ensuring survival, and building a future where Serie A remains competitive, respected, and globally admired.”
Why is Germany’s Bundesliga different to other leagues?
The Bundesliga has a similar financial mismatch with the Premier League. Only Bayern Munich (sixth) and Borussia Dortmund (12th) are in the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest 30 clubs. There are 12 English teams on the list. But it also has a different club ownership structure to the other major European leagues, which gives club members (usually fans) a much greater say in how the club is run.
In Germany, the 50+1 rule essentially enshrines that 50% plus one share of a club’s total shares must be owned by members, meaning ownership by rich individuals or even nation states, as seen in the Premier League, are out of the question. It’s one reason why Bayern and Dortmund were against the mooted European Super League that other European powers supported and then abandoned in 2021.
“The fan movement Germany is very well organized. Fans groups are strong. They voice their opposition against all sorts of stupid ideas. Protection of fans rights is really important to German fans,” said Endemann.
“The German football officials who spoke out against this are not necessarily doing it because they would never want to get new sources of income, but more because they know what a mess this will be within their own clubs and how big the opposition would be during the games and at AGMs,” he added.
What does the Bundesliga itself think?
The Bundesliga is operated by the DFL (German Football League) who have publicly come out in opposition to the idea.
“As long as I am responsible for this league, there will be no match abroad, when it comes to competitive matches. Full stop,” said Hans-Joachim Watzke, the chairman of the DFL supervisory board and a former Dortmund CEO.
Bayern Munich have also come out against the idea, which is particularly important given that those two are the only two German clubs with any sort of significant global following. However, their CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen appeared to leave the door slightly more ajar, with regard to the Supercup, the preseason curtain-raiser between the winners of the league and German Cup.
“I don’t think much of that [playing league games abroad]. On the other hand, I do think it’s a good idea for the 36 clubs in the first and second divisions to bring German football to the world. But we must never forget where our foundation lies. Therefore, I want our competitive matches to always be played in Germany — even if a Supercup might attract more attention abroad than friendly matches,” Dreesen said.
What do German fans make of playing games abroad?
As Endemann noted, opposition from fans everywhere has been strong. And that’s particularly true in Germany, where fan engagement is strong. Unsere Kurve, an organization that represents fan groups from various German clubs, told DW it doesn’t feel protests are needed yet, given the DFL’s position. But the group also made its opposition to the idea of games abroad very clear.
“Moving league matches abroad would be a further step toward alienating professional football from its grassroots,” said Jost Peter, the organization’s chairman.
“When clubs are deprived of a home match, they lose not only sporting fairness, but also essential stadium and fan culture: co-determination, fan choreography, accessibility and social participation are undermined as a result. Football is thus degraded from a social cultural asset to a random global event product.”
Could things change in the future?
The cancellation of the Spanish game puts the whole concept in some doubt for now. But football increasingly chases the money, said Endemann, and even Germany is not totally immune.
“Bad ideas travel fast. If these plans work — and that’s a big if — and it really generates lots of money, German clubs, as they have in the past in other ways, would probably chase this as well, arguing, ‘We have to keep up with the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A to be competitive in Europe.’ All that stuff which has been said in the past when chasing ideas like this.”
With three months to go until the game in Perth, the whole idea appears to be in some jeopardy. But with powerful figures like La Liga boss Tebas in favor and UEFA apparently unable to stop it, the likelihood of the notion disappearing forever seems fanciful.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
