The German Football Association (DFB) has announced a financial year with positive figures for the first time after years of losses. The world’s largest national sports association closed the 2023 financial year with a surplus after taxes of around 4.9 million euros, the DFB announced. The business magazine Capital reported about it.
After two years of losses, the DFB was able to return to profit for the first time. In 2022, the association had made a loss of 4.2 million euros, and in the year before that it had made a loss of 33.5 million euros.
New association headquarters and sporting failures as loss factors
The main reasons for the high losses at the time were, among other things, the costs of building the new association headquarters in Frankfurt am Main. Unexpected tax burdens also arose due to the DFB’s non-profit status being revoked for the years 2006, 2014 and 2015. The DFB lodged an appeal against the revocation for 2014 and 2015 at the beginning of 2023, and the process is still ongoing.
The sporting failures of the men’s senior national team, which was eliminated early at the 2018 and 2022 World Championships and the 2021 European Championship, also contributed to the financial deficits of recent years.
Three key points for improving finances
DFB treasurer Stephan Grunwald called Capital three main reasons for the end of the economic crisis. In addition to savings measures and revenue increases with a total volume of around 15 million euros, the new basic agreement with the German Football League (DFL) concluded in 2023 also led to financial improvements. This reorganized the mutual rights and obligations as well as the payment flows between the two associations. According to Grunwald, the third success factor was the good marketing of the DFB Cup competitions, leagues and national teams.
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DFB President Bernd Neuendorf said that the DFB had “made good decisions in the past two years” in terms of personnel, sport and finances. Above all, the association’s top management had succeeded in “creating a culture of cooperation and trust” that forms the basis for good association work in the interests of football.
According to the annual report, the association’s free reserves rose from 41.4 million euros (2022) to 54.7 million euros.
The German Football Association (DFB) has announced a financial year with positive figures for the first time after years of losses. The world’s largest national sports association closed the 2023 financial year with a surplus after taxes of around 4.9 million euros, the DFB announced. The business magazine Capital reported about it.
After two years of losses, the DFB was able to return to profit for the first time. In 2022, the association had made a loss of 4.2 million euros, and in the year before that it had made a loss of 33.5 million euros.
