Source:REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer
[Saba Sports News] Recently, Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer reiterated his call to abolish the 50+1 policy in an interview. Hainer stated, “The ‘50+1’ rule should be abolished. Every club should be able to decide its own direction for development.” Additionally, Hainer spoke about marketing in the Bundesliga, saying, “Even the lowest-ranked teams in England earn more than our league’s top teams. Our clubs need to expand into the Americas, Africa, and Asia to improve the current situation.”The 50+1 policy is a management rule for professional football clubs introduced when the German Football Association (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL) revised their statutes in 1998. It requires Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga clubs to hold more than 50% of the voting rights and at least one additional voting right from all asset owners. The policy aims to balance professionalization with the clubs’ traditional membership structure, ensuring that clubs maintain a leading role in significant decisions. According to the regulations, investors’ shareholding ratios do not affect the distribution of voting rights, and decisions of professional clubs follow the principle of the minority obeying the majority to prevent excessive capital interference.
The editor believes that foreign investors can enhance the competitiveness of German football. Furthermore, clubs like Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg already exist as exceptions, leading one to question whether some clubs truly adhere to the “50+1” rule.