Football clubs celebrate co-operation in Champions League final

Thousands of fans will be shouting for their team during this weekend's Champions League final, and it is also a chance for co-operators to shout about co-operation.

Thousands of fans will be shouting for their team during this weekend's Champions League final, and it is also a chance for co-operators to shout co-operation.

The final, due to take place on 25 May at Wembley Stadium, London, features Bayer Munich and Borussia Dortmund, two German football clubs owned by their supporters. 

This year, co-operatively-owned football clubs have had a tremendous run in Champions League with Barcelona and Real Madrid being the other two semi-finalists.

Co-op ownership has proven to be very successful in Germany and Spain. Thirty three out of the 36 clubs in the Bundesliga are owned by their supporters and none of them has entered into administration over the past 42 years. Fans own at least 51 per cent of the club, which means that no individual can take control of the club. In the case of Bayer Munich, 130,000 fans own 84 per cent of the club.

The same applies to Borussia Dortmund, with the majority of the club’s shares being owned by its supporters. Since fans are the ones owning the clubs, the tickets also come at more affordable prices.

Kevin Rye, Network Development Manager at Supporters Direct, said co-op football clubs are a better alternative because they get supporters involved as major stakeholders. In his view, the co-op structure is much more reflective of what a football club is.

He believes that co-operatives make “better football clubs” and “better businesses”. And co-op football clubs engage with the communities more, according to Mr Rye, by being able to build a real connection with their fans. 

The co-op alternative, he added, tends to be considered only in crisis situation. However, clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayer Munich prove that this model is sustainable on long-term.

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