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No floodlight? Cold showers? German football clubs fear energy crisis

2022-07-26T15:07:22.928Z


Floodlight games, shirt sales, European Cup games in Kazakhstan: the Bundesliga soccer teams are worried about the impending raw material and energy crisis. Schalke professionals are already feeling the effects.


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Photo: Michael Titgemeyer / osnapix / IMAGO

In view of the looming energy crisis, German professional clubs see difficult times ahead for football.

"We won't miss it either," said Ilja Kaenzig, spokesman for the management of first division club VfL Bochum at the sustainability forum of the German Football League (DFL) in Berlin.

The sport is about to become aware "that it will be very painful for all of us," believes Kaenzig.

It will "go to the bottom line, to game plans, to competition formats, to business models".

He gave the example that it should no longer be necessary »for a team from Iceland to fly to Kazakhstan for 90 minutes of football«.

Football must make a contribution that not only consists of speeches, but also "goes to the economy and the comfort zone," Kaenzig continued.

Maybe there will be no more floodlight games in the future, maybe it will then also "no longer be socially acceptable that we as clubs want to sell the fans a new jersey every year because it's a waste of resources," he said.

Watzke sees no reason to panic

Soccer is not systemically relevant, said Nicole Kumpis, President of the second division club Eintracht Braunschweig: "That means if gas and electricity are saved, then it will not stop at professional soccer".

BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke sees things a little differently.

»Of course a serious situation can arise, and then you have to solve it when it's there.

You also have to prepare, but panic in advance is inappropriate, "said the head of the DFL supervisory board of the dpa news agency.

Nevertheless, the DFL is expanding its committees to include a sustainability committee.

The committee representatives from the clubs in the first two leagues will “deal with issues from the areas of ecological, economic and social sustainability,” the association announced on Monday on the sidelines of the sustainability forum.

Representatives of several interest groups, including Green politician Cem Özdemir, gave a lecture in Berlin's "Futurium" on Monday.

If football wants to live up to its role model function, there is no way around the issue of sustainability, said the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture via video message.

The Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze (SPD), also said that professional football can and must make its contribution to achieving the sustainability goals.

Schalke professionals only get cold water

This is already happening in Oldenburg: The pros of Bundesliga promoted FC Schalke 04 will have to take a cold shower on Sunday after the DFB Cup first round match against Bremer SV in Oldenburg's Marschweg Stadium.

As part of an energy-saving plan by the city of Oldenburg, the central hot water system in all municipal sports facilities, including the Marschweg Stadium, is switched off during the school holidays in Lower Saxony.

What will affect football is of particular concern to the less financially strong sports.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) recently went on the offensive, sent out a position paper to politicians and called for financial aid for sports clubs, among other things.

Due to an impending gas crisis in winter as a result of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, savings measures in professional and amateur sports, for example the operation of swimming pools and halls, are also being debated.

ngo/dpa/sid

Source: spiegel

All sports articles on 2022-07-26

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