No turnover and logistical problems: district clubs are not very enthusiastic about ghost games

The BFV has still not stopped playing. Possible options such as ghost games are not very popular in the district. The clubs point to a lack of sales and logistical problems.

District - Suspended until further notice, but still not canceled: The Bavarian Football Association (BFV) relies on dialogue with its more than 4,500 clubs in order to save the game operations of the 2019/20 season as possible. President Rainer Koch now asked the club officials by video message to deal with the scenario "amateur games without spectators" - initially, however, only for women's and men's football (without youth).

"If there is no other way, I wouldn't mind"

Palzing's head of department, Dominik Heiß, comments on this in two ways. "To be honest, I can't imagine playing games without a spectator," explains Heiß. "But if there is no other way, then I wouldn't mind." SVA coach Sepp Summerer, on the other hand, reminds of district league matches like in Manching, "where only 30 people watched anyway, including 20 of us. And when it comes to friendly games, the scenery is small, ”says Summerer. Financially, without a spectator, maybe "half a year can be bridged, but not longer," says Heiß, a cautious forecast, while Summerer also refers to the lack of sales in the club homes around the match day due to the lack of spectators.

A few kilometers further west, on the other hand, the alarm bells are already ringing when it comes to sports home operations. "Logically, our legendary Maundy Thursday, which was always very busy in the evenings after training, is already over," regrets Kirchdorf's trainer Andreas Apold. "I don't know whether the big leisure tournament including live music and the whole beautiful setting can take place at Pentecost." Especially on Kirchdorfer Sternstrasse, one of the better-attended venues in the district league, something would be missing without spectators. "That would be a strange feeling - soccer with zero point, zero mood," Apold said. "But if the league can be maintained through ghost games, I naturally accept that."

"I would cancel the season"

Christian Grüll (TSV Moosburg): "I would cancel the season." Photo: Götzberger

Christian Grüll, coach at TSV Moosburg's regional league competitor, sees things differently. “In terms of sport, it would be the fairest solution to end the season,” emphasizes the 51-year-old, “and in some of the preparatory games we only played in front of four spectators”. He sees the problem more in logistics: "If English weeks are to be scheduled after the long break, how should it work with shift workers, occupancy and cabin occupancy?" Therefore, the TSV trainer is more in favor of dropping out. “Football is not the most important thing in the world. So I would cancel the season. Because what happens when it becomes known that player A has been infected by team B three days after the match? ”

Anselm Küchle's considerations go in almost the same direction. The sporting director of VfB Hallbergmoos is debating how the game could be rated in such a case. Küchle also worries about the organizational effort in the case of "ghost games" for the clubs: "The spectators may still arrive and try to be able to watch from somewhere along the way." It is therefore important to clarify in advance how to deal with this. In Hallbergmoos, the stadium is completely fenced. On more accessible playing fields, such as in Hörgertshausen, "securing" the system should prove to be much more difficult. “Financially, we would have a certain amount of time without audience revenue,” says Küchle, “but certainly not for every club”. The 201 games of the Landesliga Südost, which had been played to date, attracted more than 40,000 spectators to the stadiums.

“If we don't start in May, we can forget the season”

Andreas Apold (SC Kirchdorf): "That would be a strange feeling."

© Lohmeier

However, the calendar must be kept in mind when considering all of this. "If we don't get going in May, we can forget the season anyway," Summerer points out. Or else completely new ideas are needed in relation to a follow-up season. "Then the 2020/21 season starts much later," says Küchle openly for far-reaching changes. But one thing, and everyone emphasizes that, despite all considerations, comes first: health.

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