On the terraces: Borussia Dortmund members vote against Rheinmetall, DFL reopens TV rights bidding

In a weekly Newsletter, Matt Ford keeps an eye on the action off the pitch in the Bundesliga and German football, explaining what’s going on from fan protests to finances.

Outside a London pub ahead of last season's Champions League final, some Borussia Dortmund supporters felt that their club's freshly announced sponsorship deal with arms manufacturer Rheinmetall could go "the same way as Bayern and Qatar." Spontaneous banners were displayed inside Wembley, and even more followed on the Südtribüne in August, but the protest otherwise appeared to go quiet – at least on the surface. In the background, however, the opposition remained, and the topic exploded (pardon the pun) spectacularly during Borussia Dortmund's two annual general meetings this week. Read on to find out more.

Even more important to Bundesliga clubs than sponsorship is, of course, TV money. On Monday, the DFL reopened bidding for its domestic Bundesliga broadcast rights for the next four seasons. After the auction was initially suspended back in April after DAZN accused the DFL of favouring Sky and breaching competition law, the outcome will be of immense importance for all concerned.

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Matt Ford's "On the terraces" newsletter will continue to appear every week throughout the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. Last season, the newsletter featured exclusive and in-depth coverage of the Bundesliga's private equity plans and the political intrigues at VfB Stuttgart, among other things. If you like what you see, please consider taking out a paid subscription.