TSG Hoffenheim returns to the 50+1 rule

TSG Hoffenheim has returned to the circle of regular 50+1 clubs. The club confirmed this on Wednesday.

Accordingly, patron Dietmar Hopp returned his majority vote at “TSG Hoffenheim Fußball-Spielbetriebs GmbH” to the club. In 2014, the DFL granted the entrepreneur special status due to his long-standing support for the club.

“It was never about power for me,” said Hopp: “Before and after the exemption was granted, we always acted in the spirit of 50+1. The special status was never intended to undermine or undermine this regulation. I know that the The 50+1 rule, which I have always supported, is a great asset in German football.”

In addition to TSG Hoffenheim, Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Bayer) and VfL Wolfsburg (VW) have such a special right in the Bundesliga. Financier Martin Kind had also applied for such a status in the 2nd Bundesliga, but had failed.

With the return to the circle of 50+1 clubs, Hoffenheimer e. V. regained the majority of votes in the association. Personnel decisions and the basic orientation can again be made independently by the club without requiring Hopp’s consent.

The step of the 82-year-old IT entrepreneur should table footballAccording to the report, they have nothing to do with the current sporting misery – TSG is ranked 16th in the Bundesliga table after just 19 points after 22 games. Also, no financial restrictions are to be expected for the Sinsheimers, as the club announced.

With his move, Hopp also saved the club from possible negative effects in the near future. The Bundeskartellamt assessed the exceptions to the 50+1 rule as problematic. The DFL leadership had recently promised a solution to the problem by the end of March.

“In the course of the debates, it is now important to me to create clear conditions for TSG in terms of the applicable regulations, to which I have always felt obliged,” explained Hopp.