Article published 15 March 2012

Dan Storey at football365 has written an excellent article on the German footballing model. He makes some interesting points:

  • A minimum of 51% of each club must be owned by the club's members
  • Club members have the ability to directly affect the running of the club
  • A season ticket for Borussia Dortmund costs £152 for 17 domestic home games and one European game
  • Average attendance in the Bundesliga last season was 42,690 (7,000 more than the Premier League)
  • Due to the financial regulations imposed, Bundesliga clubs are less prone to signing players for exorbitant transfer fees
Of course, managing the clubs on a break-even basis prevents the clubs from paying very high wages and is felt to restrict success in UEFA competitions. One of the comments reads "the Bundesliga is probably the best league for fans, but not for actual football."

http://www.football365.com/f365-features/7593288/Why-The-German-Grass-Looks-Greener...