Dhe TSG 1899 Hoffenheim is returning to the group of Bundesliga clubs to which the so-called 50+1 rule applies. It stipulates that the majority of voting rights remain with the clubs – even if investors enter the company. Dietmar Hopp, who has been the majority shareholder of TSG Hoffenheim-Spielbetriebs GmbH since 2015, announced on Tuesday that he wanted to relinquish the special status he had been granted by the German Football League and the German Football Association in 2014 after more than twenty years of significant financial support for his home club.
The commitment of the 82-year-old co-founder of the software group SAP for his club, which was promoted to the Bundesliga in 2008 and is currently threatened with relegation, is said to have amounted to around 350 million euros over the decades.
Hopp: “I always felt obliged to comply with regulations”
The withdrawal of the Hoffenheim patron from the position of majority shareholder may also have something to do with the fact that the Federal Cartel Office in 2021 declared the 50+1 rule to be harmless in terms of sports policy, but criticized the exceptions to the rule. In future, they will only apply to the Bundesliga clubs Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg, which have been substantially supported by Bayer AG and Volkswagen AG for decades.
“It was never about power for me,” said Hopp, according to the statement: “Before and after the granting of the exemption, 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 50+1 rule, which I have always advocated, is a great asset in German football. “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.
A final assessment and decision by the Federal Cartel Office is expected this year following the ongoing clarification process. Hopp remains connected to the club: as the majority owner of the capital shares in Fußball-Spielbetriebs GmbH as well as the top fan and patron.
