German regulator pushes for more fan control of soccer clubs like Bayer Leverkusen

By Canadian Press on June 16, 2025.

BONN, Germany (AP) — Top German soccer clubs including Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig face the prospect of handing over more control to fans after a regulator intervened.

A statement Monday from Germany’s antitrust regulator, the Federal Cartel Office, said it wants to see tighter enforcement of the rule known as 50-plus-1 which requires a soccer club’s membership to have majority voting rights over how the team is run.

The regulator said recent European court rulings suggest permanent exemptions from 50-plus-1 for last year’s champion Leverkusen and fellow top-tier club Wolfsburg seem “no longer possible.”

It said efforts should be made in the future to ensure the club’s professional soccer operations come under the control of membership organizations, but didn’t name any deadline.

Leverkusen and Wolfsburg were founded as workers’ teams at major companies which own the clubs, with pharmaceutical giant Bayer at Leverkusen, and car manufacturer Volkswagen at Wolfsburg. Their long-term involvement led to the clubs getting exemptions from 50-plus-1.

The regulator also said the German men’s soccer league needs to ensure the clubs it oversees “offer their fans the opportunity to become a new full member with voting rights.”

That appears to affect Leipzig and its relationship with drinks giant Red Bull, though they weren’t directly named by the regulator in Tuesday’s statement.

The club was founded by Red Bull in 2009 and is part of its international network of soccer clubs. It grants voting rights to far fewer people than most German clubs. Local media reported that only 23 members had the right to vote at Leipzig as of last year.

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The Associated Press

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