5 Ways the Premier League Can Learn from the Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has blasted the Premier League, arguing that the financial irresponsibility and lack of concern for the needs of fans is causing the English game to lose its soul.

In an age of oligarch owners, prohibitively expensive tickets and endless politics, Watzke may have a point. Here are 5 lessons the Premiership can learn from German football, financial and otherwise...

The Bundesliga Offers Cheaper Tickets

While an Arsenal fan can part with up to £126 to enjoy a single match at the Emirates this season, tickets in the Bundesliga have always been low enough that any fan can afford to see his favorite team in the flesh.

A ticket to be among the 80,000 fans watching league champions Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion will set you back around €11 and will often include free rail travel.

A season ticket––which might cost you £1,900 in North London––can be yours for around €190, and their number is limited to ensure everyone has the chance to see a game.

As a result, cost does not prohibit new generations of fans from seeing German teams; around 40 percent of those at the Westfalenstadion are under 25. Additionally, average attendance in the Bundesliga exceeds 45,000—the highest of any football league in the world.

Stats: The Guardian

The Bundesliga Has Relegation Playoffs

Things are a little more exciting at the bottom of the table in Germany. The bottom two sides are automatically relegated, but the team in 16th place is entered into a two-legged playoff, with the side who finished third in the two.
 
Last season, third-bottom Hertha Berlin were given a final chance to stay up with a playoff against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Hertha lost on aggregate over a rousing and controversy-filled pair of games and were sent back to the league they had only escaped the previous season.

It might be a cruel way to be relegated, but it can also be a chance for redemption. Either way, it provides an exciting climax to the season. 

Bundesliga Stadia Have Standing Areas

Following the recommendations of the Taylor Report, a document produced in the aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster, all top-flight stadia in England are all-seater.

Most Bundesliga stadia, however, maintain standing areas. Dortmund's Westfalenstadion has standing room for 28,000, Hamburg's Volksparkstadion has room for around 6,000, and the Allianz Arena––home of Bayern Munich and 1860 Munchen––has removable seating areas that allow for over 3,000 standing fans.

Standing is part of football culture in Germany, and even though clubs could make more money by installing seating, they wouldn't dream of it. It is said to improve the already-defeaning atmosphere of most Bundesliga games and is favoured by many supporters.

Many Premier League supporters groups have campaigned for 'safe standing areas', but to no avail.

Bundesliga Clubs Are Controlled by Their Members

Clubs in the Bundesliga and second Bundesliga must adhere to the "50 percent plus one" rule, which means members must have majority ownership. (Only Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim are given exceptions for historical reasons.)

This rule prevents rich oligarch owners from taking control of clubs clubs, buying success and wildly inflating transfer values. By preserving the financial integrity of the league, the Bundesliga will surely avoid the kind of implosion that is inevitable for the financially irresponsible Premier League.

Member ownership also helps preserve the notion that football clubs exist for the fans, not the whims of shareholders or bored millionaires.

Fans Can Drink Beer at Bundesliga Stadia!

Thanks to hooliganism problems, drinking alcohol in sight of the pitch has been outlawed in England since 1985.

As famous beer lovers, the Germans have no such problem, as they are welcome to enjoy a local brew with their bratwurst on the terraces.

According to nurbier.de, 60,000 Schalke fans will drink around 30,000 liters of beer on a match day––an average of one beer for every person! Bundesliga beers are also reasonably priced at around €3-4 each.