The club culture varies from one country to country to another and everyone thinks he has the best structure.
The truth is that Germany does it right, both on and off the field. In England, the Premier League has come to resemble a playground for billionaires, oligarchs and sheikhs, but it’s a different model in Germany and one where the supporters have a real say in the running of their clubs. In 2001, the “50 per cent plus one” rule was introduced, meaning that all German clubs had to be owned by their members, thereby preventing the kind of aggressive takeovers seen in other major leagues around the world. Germany’s leading team, Bayern Munich, for instance, is 82 per cent owned by its fans, with the sports equipment giant Adidas and the car manufacturer Audi sharing the remaining stake.

As Christian Seifert, CEO of the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), explains, it’s a model that really ticks all the boxes. “The 50+1 rule ensures stability, sustainability and member engagement in the clubs as well as preventing financial excesses,” he says. “We do not consider it a disadvantage to be independent from outside capital. Investors who want to take over the majority of a club need to prove their commitment to the Bundesliga, the fans and the competitors. This is why it is mandatory to be a significant supportive partner for 20 years and more, like Bayer and Volkswagen were in Leverkusen and Wolfsburg.”

The net result is that the fans’ wishes are not just listened to but acted upon. In England, if the supporters want a change in the boardroom in their clubs, it usually takes some unpleasant banners held aloft in the stands and/or a crowd gathering outside the entrance to the ground after another home defeat before the suits begin to take notice. In Germany, the members just elect their club officials instead.

Once a year the members have a chance to discuss their concerns about what is going on in the club and to vote for the board. Depending on the constitution of a club you elect the board in general for two years, but even though there is nobody to elect, the annual meeting will take place and the members can express their confidence to the board or even express their distrust. Without the trust of the members the annual meeting cannot be successfully finished and the board members have to do their homework and a follow up meetings has to be scheduled in a fix timeframe.