German licensed football consists of the 36 professional clubs, DFL e.V. and DFL GmbH. But what form does the organisational and financial framework take?
The 36 clubs and limited companies of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 established the “Ligaverband” on 18 December 2000 with the aim of establishing the independence of German licensed football. In a context of increasing economic strength, constantly evolving requirements and growing interest from the public, there was a realisation that the professional clubs needed their own organisation, which was then created under the name “Die Liga – Fußballverband e.V.”. At the 2016 General Assembly, the clubs voted to change the name to DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga e.V. (or DFL e.V. for short). This brought the name in line with the Frankfurt-based DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH (or DFL GmbH for short), which has been managing the business operations of DFL e.V. as a wholly owned subsidiary since its foundation.
The members of DFL e.V. are the clubs that receive the appropriate licence for the respective season and thus play in the Bundesliga or Bundesliga 2. This 2024 Economic Report provides a cumulative presentation of the key economic performance indicators of the clubs that played in the Bundesliga or Bundesliga 2 during the 2022-23 season.
DFL GmbH is responsible for the organisation and marketing of German professional football in order to create the optimum conditions in the interest of the professional clubs. One of DFL GmbH’s tasks is to market the media rights to matches in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, as well as the Supercup and the relegation play-offs, nationally and worldwide on the best possible terms. As a contracting partner of the rights holders, DFL e.V. ultimately returns the income generated from marketing to the clubs of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. This is a major economic factor that needs to be taken into consideration. In the 2022-23 season, revenues from the marketing of media rights to matches in national and international competitions alone accounted for around 34 per cent of the total revenue of the 36 professional clubs. The majority is attributable to revenues from the central marketing of the rights to the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches by the DFL.
As an organisation fee, DFL e.V. itself receives a percentage of the national and international broadcast revenue and of the revenue from sponsorship and group marketing – i.e. of the income generated centrally. DFL e.V. largely finances its own budget, including the services provided for it by DFL GmbH.
