The chief of the German league, speaking on the final day of the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester, insisted that UEFA had made a “good decision” in agreeing to bring in the FFP regulations over the coming years. Seifert oversees arguably the most stable financial football league in Europe, with Germany’s 50+1 ownership rule and licensing system ensuring that significantly indebted clubs are relatively rare.
“There is a need to create a certain amount of sustainability,” he said. “There are some clubs that may not be bothered if they are losing Eur200 or Eur300 million per year, but that cannot be fair for competition. There is a danger of losing the fans in the street with that approach.”
Seifert added: “Every league needs to define its own path, but it won’t happen unless three, four or five of the big clubs go that way (and adopt a stable financial model). In our league it may not have happened if Bayern Munich and some of the others had not had done it.”
The Bundesliga chief executive officer also spoke of the significant Eur2 billion investment in stadia ahead of the 2006 World Cup in the country and the fact that the venues are “still packed and people are paying the entrance fees” five years on.
