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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Coronavirus crisis puts Bundesliga clubs in financial danger - DFB president

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Coronavirus crisis puts Bundesliga clubs in financial danger - DFB president
Coronavirus crisis puts Bundesliga clubs in financial danger - DFB president

Fritz Keller says the DFB will provide financial and structual support to regional and state associations in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

SHOWS: FRANKFURT, GERMANY (MARCH 18, 2020) (DFB - ACCESS ALL) 1.

(SOUNDBITE) (German) DFB PRESIDENT, FRITZ KELLER, SAYING: "Not just small clubs are in danger but also Bundesliga clubs.

There is a connection all the way from district clubs to the Bundesliga.

Soccer is doing so well because we are a competitive sport with great achievements made, from the national team down to the third league.

It's a very complex affair and it's important to think about how we can keep the structures within the Bundesliga." 2.

WHITE FLASH 3.

(SOUNDBITE) (German) DFB PRESIDENT, FRITZ KELLER, SAYING: "What's important is to keep the structure of 25,000 clubs and seven million members, from the district to the regional league up to the Bundesliga.

Let's not forget that 250,000 people work here full-time.

In order to keep this structure we decided in a board meeting today to financially and structurally support regional and state associations." STORY: Germany's Football Association (DFB) on Wednesday (March 18) was left shaking its head and offered more questions than answers on the future of the country's national sport, with a quarter of a million of jobs on the line due to the coronavirus.

The virus forced the complete suspension of matches in the country on March 16 until April 2 at least, putting the entire season and national team matches in doubt.

The Bundesliga has been in strong financial health for more than a decade, with top-division clubs generating more than 4 billion euros ($4.34 billion) in revenue for the first time according to its annual report last month, the 15th straight year of growth.

But the virus has sparked a financial crisis for the DFB, president Fritz Keller told a news conference with 20 invited reporters connected remotely, with 250,000 jobs under threat.

Apart from the Bundesliga and other major European leagues, all international matches and competitions including Euro 2020 have either been scrapped or postponed, wreaking further havoc with the international sports calendar.

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