The Bundesliga Executive Committee issues the following statement regarding the future of the 50+1 rule:
1. The Bundesliga Executive Committee stands by the 50+1 rule.
In the view of the Executive Committee, the 50+1 rule is a fundamental principle of German professional football and a cornerstone of the sport’s social integration in Germany.
The Executive Committee’s position reflects the sentiment expressed in March 2018, when the clubs voted by majority at a General Assembly in favour of a “process aimed at improving legal certainty, as well as further considerations regarding changing framework conditions while maintaining the 50+1 rule”.
In addition to its clear commitment, the Executive Committee will seek a confirmation of the 50+1 rule as a fundamental principle of German professional football at the next General Assembly of the League Association in December 2026. Given its strategic and sporting policy significance, this step is intended to ensure that the overarching direction is legitimised by the broad majority of clubs.
2. The Federal Cartel Office’s final assessment provides the basis for making the 50+1 rule more legally secure in the long term.
The Federal Cartel Office has confirmed the compatibility of the 50+1 rule with the anti-trust laws and acknowledged the possibility of an exemption from European competition and abuse-of-dominance prohibitions. While the authority considers the rule to constitute a restriction of competition, it concludes that the rule can be justified under the objective of safeguarding participation opportunities for broad segments of the population.
With regard to a more consistent structure and application of the 50+1 rule, the authority identified a need for adjustments concerning funding-related exemptions, club openness, and the organisational rules of the League Association, and outlined a range of possible options. The League Association is required to address these identified areas for adjustment within the spectrum of solutions set out by the Federal Cartel Office.
The 36 clubs, acting as the General Assembly of the League Association, will be responsible for the final decision-making regarding the future of the 50+1 rule and the implementation of the Federal Cartel Office’s guidance and recommendations with respect to the statutes of Bundesliga e.V.
3. The objective is to achieve a consensual solution within the League Association in order to genuinely strengthen the legal certainty of the 50+1 rule.
The Bundesliga Executive Committee will present final proposals to the League Association during the first half of 2027, regarding the uniform design and application of the 50+1 rule across all member clubs.
One thing is clear: the future handling of the 50+1 rule within the association will shape both the Bundesliga leagues and cooperation within the League Association for years to come. A broadly supported solution offers the greatest opportunity, in the interests of all stakeholders, to avoid protracted legal disputes within the League Association and thereby genuinely strengthen the legal certainty of the rule on a sustainable basis.
By contrast, abbreviated or premature decisions at league level could significantly undermine the legal certainty of the rule rather than reinforce it.
Further intensive discussions and a high degree of responsibility on the part of all stakeholders will be required in the weeks and months ahead.