German football games soon in Saudi Arabia?
DFL boss does not want to “currently rule out anything”
Created: 2022-02-06, 22:34
By: Andreas Schmid
The Spanish football league is already playing in Saudi Arabia.
Is Germany now following suit?
© Julio Munoz/Agencia EFE via Imago
"There are no holy cows for me," says the new chairwoman of the German Football League.
In the future, it could also be played in Saudi Arabia.
Munich - Will football matches of German teams soon take place on Arab soil?
This scenario, which was utopian years ago, could soon become reality.
The new DFL boss Donata Hopfen is working on the idea of hosting the Supercup in Saudi Arabia in the future.
Hops “doesn’t want to rule out anything at the moment”.
In the Supercup, the German champions play against the cup winners.
German Supercup soon in Saudi Arabia?
DFL boss does not want to “currently rule out anything”
In an interview with
Bild am Sonntag
, Hopfen, who had inherited Christian Seifert's office at the beginning of the year, said: "There are no holy cows for me." That's why you have to deal with new partners: "Every measure that will give us money in the future should bring must suit us.
But I don't think we can rule out anything in this regard at the moment."
The fact that hops are defending themselves against bans on thinking when it comes to shaping the future and does not seem to shy away from drastic measures holds a lot of explosives, especially in dialogue with the fan representatives.
But in Hopfen's opinion, German professional football "must be careful not to get caught in a downward spiral" due to the strong international competition and the severe financial effects of the corona pandemic.
Saudi Arabia and sport: "Want to distract from abuses"
Saudi Arabia is currently trying hard to gain a foothold in the sport.
Only recently, in our “Inside Qatar” series of articles, we intensively examined the ambitions of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states such as Qatar or the United Arab Emirates.
Because the mineral resources of oil and gas are becoming finite in the Gulf, millions are being invested in the sport.
Gulf States expert Sebastian Sons explained to
Merkur.de
.
“All Gulf states want to use sport to distract from abuses and strengthen their authoritarian rule.
The rulers are hoping for positive attention at home and abroad.”
Saudi Arabia is currently investing in the English first division club Newcastle United.
The consortium that took over the traditional club threatened with relegation consists of 80 percent of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
Sons, who has written several books about the largest Gulf state, says: "Saudi Arabia wants to use Newcastle's favorable geographic location to invest in local logistics and to buy real estate." Arabia instead.
The Bundesliga could soon stop in the desert region.
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