On the terraces in Bundesliga 2: Hannover and 50+1, Schalke finances and 'Fortuna for all' in Düsseldorf

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.

It's become a bit of a running joke that Bundesliga 2 is a bigger and better league than Bundesliga 1 and yet, depending on the metric used, it's an argument that can be increasingly convincingly made. When the 2024/25 Bundesliga 2 season gets underway this weekend, it does so featuring seven of Germany's 20 biggest football clubs by membership, representing seven of its 20 largest cities and including eight of the top 20 clubs in the Bundesliga's "eternal table" since 1963. On one weekend in February last season, Bundesliga 2 even recorded a higher total attendance (284,643) than the Bundesliga (261,099) for the first time – but likely not the last, given the make-up of this season's division, including the two who kick off the campaign on Friday night: 1. FC Köln and Hamburger SV.

Ultimately, of course, only one metric counts, and Köln and Hamburg are two examples among many of how poor management of big German clubs off the pitch is inevitably punished on it. Whether HSV can finally return to the Bundesliga at the 7^th (seventh!) attempt will again be a key feature of the season, as will Köln's transfer ban which won't be lifted until January. We'll have more on those two on the opening weekend. Elsewhere, Schalke's precarious economic situation will continue to make headlines while Fortuna Düsseldorf, having missed out on promotion on penalties last season, are set to continue their novel approach to ticketing with their "Fortuna for all" initiative. Other developments in Bundesliga 2 could yet have existential consequences for German football as a whole, most notably at Hannover 96 where the most vicious battles in the war over the 50+1 rule continue to rage, while a plethora of high-profile traditional derbies will keep everyone entertained.

Ahead of the new season, Gegenpressing looks at some of the key issues which are set to dominate Bundesliga 2 off the pitch this season.

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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.