Written evidence submitted by Hamburger
SV Supporters' Club
Submission sent by Hamburger SV Supporters' Club,
established 28 March 1993 and now a central figure in the governance
structure of Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V.. As of November 2010,
we have 54,416 members, including 500 volunteers who aid the day-to-day
running of the football club in various capacities. A history
and details about what we do are both provided below.
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V., a multi-sport club based
in Hamburg, and its football department is the oldest club in
Germany. Since 1887 the club has been an ever-present in the various
incarnations of German football—currently it is known as
the Bundesliga. Before describing Hamburg Supporters' Club and
the work which they do, some general facts about the Bundesliga
and the 2. Bundesliga—specifically the way in which they
regulate member clubs—may be of use.(1)
The ultimate governing body in German football is
the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB), formed in 1900 as a registered
members' association (e.V.). The top two divisions (Bundesliga
and 2. Bundesliga) are controlled by the Bundesliga, and all 36
teams are members of the Ligaverband e.V., or League Association.
This is an independent member of the DFB, but is also a registered
members' association. It is therefore governed by the same statutes
and regulations. For the purposes of this submission, two forms
of regulation are particularly relevant, namely the rules governing
ownership structure and the licensing system. Clubs can be structured
in the following four ways:
(1) Eingetragener Verein or e.V.:
These registered members' associations were the only way which
clubs were allowed to structure themselves prior to reforms made
in 1998 (which, as a response to the increasing commercialisation
of European football, allowed the professional football divisions
of clubs to be run as external limited companies). They are not-for-profit
organisations, owned by their members and managed under a strict
principle of transparency by democratically elected representatives.
All revenues generated must be reinvested in the club. Examples:
Hamburger SV, VfB Stuttgart, Schalke 04.
(2) Aktiengesellschaft (AG): A public
limited company that is often, but not always, listed on the stock
exchange. Examples: FC Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt.
(3) Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung
(GmbH): A private limited liability company with a more corporate
structure. This feature is balanced by a stipulation that the
football club owns 100% of the shares. Examples: Bayer Leverkusen,
TSG Hoffenheim 1899.
(4) Combination of a limited
company with a Kommanditgesellschaft (KG) (limited partnership)
or a Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (aA) (stock company) (GmbH
& Co KG aA/GmbH & Co KG): A new legal form of private
partnership limited by shares with a limited liability company
as a general partner, sometimes with the addition of elements
from a joint stock company. This has become popular amongst football
clubs, examples include Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen.(2)
Whilst all four options have unique characteristics,
they are all strictly monitored, and a central part of the scrutiny
process is the "50 + 1" rule. This stipulates that the
capital companies which run professional clubs can sell up to
and including 49% of their shares, but that a 50% plus one share
majority must always be owned by the parent club—ie the
members' association. This ensures that private interests (such
as those of creditors, banks, or potential takeovers) are always
subordinate to those of the members—ie the supporters. It
also ensures that supporters are able to have a voice at every
level of administration, and cannot be marginalised simply for
asking inconvenient questions.(3)
Sitting alongside the regulation of ownership is
the licensing system that all clubs competing in the Bundesliga
and 2. Bundesliga are required to go through on a seasonal basis.
Endorsed by all members and developed on a collaborative basis
by the various governing bodies, it has ensured universal solvency,
without exception, amongst German clubs over the last 40 years.
Each club applies for a licence first to the DFL, then the League
Association, by submitting audited economic data for scrutiny.
If a club is refused a licence and all avenues of appeal are exhausted,
then the club is prohibited from competing in the forthcoming
season. For a club to be awarded a licence they must demonstrate
a) that they are solvent, and b) possess positive liquidity. These
two requirements are assessed using a wide range of data, relating
to incoming payments, payments-out, and financial projections
for the forthcoming season. The resulting liquidity forecast centres
around three conditions, without which a licence cannot be awarded:
(1) That all payment obligations can be met at
all times.
(2) That regular match operations can be guaranteed
at all times.
(3) There are plans in place to counter any financial
problems that may arise.
There are four possible outcomes from the licence
application process, which range from a full award, to an award
with certain conditions, to a refusal. As previously mentioned,
clubs are free to utilise a regulated appeals process. In addition
to the pre-season application, clubs are also required to submit
accounts during the season, to ensure that positive liquidity
is maintained throughout the campaign. Any discrepancies can result
in sanctions: fines, deductions of points, a transfer embargo,
etc. As well as drawing up contingency plans for financial trouble,
clubs also have to hand over a security deposit to the DFL, which
will be used to pay its members of staff. All of the regulations
relating to ownership and licensing are recognition that football
clubs must act as responsible entities, and that reckless spending
cannot be a substitute for a long-term business strategy geared
towards stability, not merely short-term success.(4)
Having outlined the limitations which German football
clubs operate under, we can now narrow our focus to Hamburger
SV. Formed in 1887 when Der Hohenfelder Sportclub and Wandsbek-Marienthaler
Sportclub merged, the club was initially known as Sportclub Germania
zu Hamburg. The current name did not emerge until after World
War One, when Sportclub Germania zu Hamburg merged with two other
teams of the city, Hamburger FC (which in 1914 changed its name
to Hamburger Sport-Verein von 88) and FC Falke 06. Upon the foundation
of Germany's first professional league in 1963, Hamburger SV were
one of sixteen clubs invited to participate in the first season,
and have competed in the top flight ever since. The club's golden
age took place between 1976-87, during which time they won three
Bundesliga titles and reached two European Cup finals, winning
one in 1983.(5)
However, by the late 1980's the club had stagnated,
and the low point came in the 1991-92 season, finishing on 11th
place. HSV Supporters' Club was founded on 28 March 1993, with
four initial aims: to raise the level of influence wielded by
the fans, to participate in club activities, to mould club policy
for the good of its members and supporters, and to maintain the
comradeship amongst HSV supporters. From the formation with 36
initial members, to its current membership of over 54,000, these
core aims have always been used as reference points in the development
of the HSV Supporters' Club philosophy, which is as follows:
(1) We want success, but not at any price:
Sport must be more important than profit. We earn money in order
to play football, we don't play football in order to earn money!
Tickets must be affordable for everybody.
(2) We want to be in control of our own destiny:
100% member-owned. No billionaires. No companies. No separation
of the professional football team from the rest of the club.
(3) We want and support a strong membership:
Members' rights must always be guaranteed. Democratic structures.
Active members.
(4) We are proud to be a multi-sport club,
not just a football club.
(5) We stand behind tradition, fan culture
and fan activities.(6)
This philosophy, combined with Hamburg's status as
a members' association (e.V.), has ensured that the supporters
are fully integrated in both the formal governance structure and
the more informal procedures that are used to run the club on
a day-to-day basis. As mentioned above, members' associations
are not-for-profit organisations, owned by their members, and
managed by representatives elected by their members. The centrality
of members' involvement is demonstrated by the following bodies,
all of which have important responsibilities in the governance
of HSV:
(1) General Meeting of Members. This is
the highest decision-making body within the club. Only members
aged 18 or older are allowed to vote—younger members can
be represented by delegates.
(2) Supervisory Board (SB). This consists
of twelve members, eight of whom are elected at the General Meeting
of Members and four of whom are delegates selected by the Supporters'
Club, Amateurs, Seniors and HSV Ochsenzoll (which manages the
club's training and youth facilities) respectively. A term on
the SB runs for four years. The SB selects the board of directors
and (if necessary) can remove them from office. The SB is also
responsible for approving the budget presented by the board of
directors, and controls the way in which the Board of Directors
do their jobs, assigning responsibility for day-to-day operations,
and regularly monitoring the management process.
(3) Board of Directors (BoD). This consists
of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, and up to three additional
members, selected on three-year paid contracts by the SB. One
member will be appointed Director of Membership Affairs, this
is the only paid position which is elected by the members. The
BoD oversees the day-to-day affairs of the club.
(4) Department of Supporting Members/Supporters'
Club. An annual meeting is used to elect a board of five volunteers,
for three-year terms.
(5) Members. To join the HSV Supporters'
Club, fans are required to join HSV, reflecting the shared purpose
of the two entities. The current membership fee is €48 per
year—this is split between the club and the Supporters'
Club. All members have the right to vote, the right to apply for
all board positions, the right to put forward petitions at members'
meetings, the right to use club property, and the right to participate
in club activities.
(6) The Honorary Board. This consists
of seven club members over the age of 35, having been members
for at least 10 years, they are elected directly at the General
Meeting of Members. They act as a go-between in disputes and hold
the chair at some elections.
(7) The Board of Seniors. This leads the
HSV "Community of Seniors", which consists of anyone
who has been a member for more than five years and is at least
35 years of age or older. Their main brief is to maintain tradition
and unity within the club.
(8) The Amateurs Board. This is elected
at the annual meeting of all non-professional sports departments.
In the most recent General Meeting of Members (which
took place on 9 January 2011), four positions on the Supervisory
Board were filled. The four elected candidates were drawn from
different walks of life (one was an actor, another an economist)
but they shared one common characteristic: they are members of
the Supporters' Club, and thus were eligible for election onto
this crucial organ of HSV. This codified system of accountability,
which extends to the highest echelons of the club, is a demonstration
of how effective the e.V. structure is in safeguarding against
excessive individual power; and also the level of integration
into the club that is guaranteed to members.(7)
As well as allowing for a more transparent form of
governance, the e.V. structure has also allowed HSV to maintain
and develop its financial health. The club is currently 11th in
the latest Deloitte Football Money League, which ranks clubs by
revenue generated from football operations—a method generally
considered to provide the best comparative assessment of financial
strength. With revenue of €146.7 million, HSV is the second-highest
ranked German club, only behind traditional giant FC Bayern. It
sits comfortably ahead of Schalke 04 (€124.5 million), Werder
Bremen (€114.7 million) and Borussia Dortmund (€103.5
million), the other three German clubs ranked in the top 20. Of
these three, both Bremen and Dortmund are structured as GmbH &
Co KG aA's, yet on the evidence from Deloitte, it could conceivably
be argued that the e.V. provides not only a more accountable structure,
but one which generates greater revenue.(8)
HSV Supporters' Club is led by a board of five volunteers,
supported by a full-time manager and fifteen additional employees,
with accounts available for examination at each AGM. However,
the main body of its work is carried about by the hundreds of
volunteer members, who are drawn from the general membership scattered
around Germany. The Supporters' Club has contacts in every major
German city. The Supporters' Club meets with the Board of Directors
on a regular basis to discuss the issues affecting both the club
and its supporters. Through a history of sensible, constructive
dialogue, the Supporters' Club has ensured that no fan-related
decisions will be taken without their input and consultation.
Since their foundation, the Supporters' Club have spearheaded
many changes and/or adaptations that have been of benefit to both,
the club and the supporters. The first of these came in the late
1990's, when the club began construction on a new stadium. The
Supporters' Club lobbied hard for the inclusion of standing areas
in both the North and the South Stands, as well as cut-price seating
across the ground. The Supporters' Club also take a prominent
role in consulting with the club over season ticket prices—a
permanent reduction for members has resulted. The club's various
Ultra groups are also included in the dialogue, with large-scale
choreography displays encouraged and funded by members.(9)
As well as working alongside the club on an administrative
level, the Supporters' Club strives to ensure that members are
integrated with the club beyond simply attending matches every
other weekend. A centralised system for attending away fixtures
has been implemented, with members able to purchase tickets, means
of transport, etc. through the Supporters' Club. This has had
major implications for wider issues surrounding fan safety in
Germany, with the HSV Supporters' Club part of an ongoing consultation
process between the football authorities and fan groups. The development
of the club's museum was initiated by the Supporters' Club, who
remain amongst the main sponsors. In terms of the wider community,
some amateur divisions of HSV (which include boxing, rugby and
baseball) are funded by Supporters' Club members, and integration
projects are developed on a regular basis. The supporters also
represent the club whenever the city hosts a major event—parades,
marches, the 2006 World Cup, etc. The vast majority of these activities
are detailed on the exhaustive website (www.hsv-sc.de) which is
increasingly becoming a portal for HSV supporters worldwide, and
not just in the city itself. There is also a quarterly fanzine,
supporters news, which is made up entirely of fan contributions,
debating issues affecting HSV and football in general.(10)
This exhaustive documentation of the activities that
the HSV Supporters' Club has been engaged in since 1993 hopefully
reflects the all-encompassing nature of the group. As well as
providing a collective voice for supporters of the club on traditional
"fan" issues such as ticket prices and safe standing,
they have become indispensable in the day-to-day running of Hamburger
SV. They are an institution with the interests of its members
and their community at its heart, providing a legal, political
and social framework which has facilitated positive development
in terms of financial stability and on-pitch success.(11)
February 2011
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