The Bundesliga is enlisting the support of American media and entertainment group Relevent as it seeks to grow its TV rights and sponsorship — starting with plans for its clubs to tour the United States next summer.
Relevent, founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M Ross, already has deals with European football’s governing body UEFA, Spain’s La Liga and the English Football League (EFL). After Relevent was blocked from bringing La Liga fixtures to the U.S. in 2018, it has been battling world football’s governing body FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation in the courts. FIFA has now been dropped from the lawsuit after saying it is prepared to review its policies, opening the door to the possibility of domestic football fixtures being played abroad. Relevent and La Liga are on record stating their intention to bring a competitive game to the U.S. as soon as possible.
German football is considered more conservative but the German Football League (DFL, which organises Germany’s top two divisions) is seeking to maximise returns in the U.S. market as world football turns its gaze to North America for the Club World Cup in 2025 and the World Cup in 2026.
German sides must abide by ’50+1′ rules, effectively meaning that at least half of the voting rights at a Bundesliga club must be held by the clubs’ members. This has created a greater degree of supporter power and input, perhaps exemplified by the fact that neither Bayern Munich nor Borussia Dortmund took up an invitation to join the breakaway European Super League in 2021.
The 50+1 rule allows clubs such as Borussia Dortmund to bond closely with fans (Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images)
However, Germany’s top flight has also experienced significantly less growth in the U.S. than its rivals in the English Premier League and La Liga. The Bundesliga’s U.S. television deal with ESPN is worth around $30million (£22.6m) per year, compared to the Premier League’s $450million per year with NBC, partially explaining why the spending power across German clubs is lower than their English counterparts. That ESPN deal is in place until the end of the 2025-26 season, after which Relevent will broker the sale of rights across the Americas over several rights cycles.
In a press release on Thursday, the DFL and Relevent said they will build a Bundesliga Americas group immediately to “significantly expand its marketing and sales activities in the region — including North, Central, and South America as well as the Caribbean”.
The statement added: “With branches in New York City and Guadalajara (Mexico) and a significant expansion of the existing staff, the Bundesliga Americas team will be closer to local markets and media companies, and produce cross-media content that tailors material to the interests and trends of the region and focuses on Bundesliga players from these countries.”
During a Zoom call with The Athletic on Wednesday, DFL chief executive Steffen Merkel insisted there is “still a lot of untapped potential for us in the U.S. market”. Mario Gomez, the technical director of Red Bull Soccer told The Athletic during RB Leipzig’s pre-season tour of the U.S. that the league must do more to extend interest beyond Bayern Munich, who won 11 Bundesliga titles in a row until Bayer Leverkusen finished top last season.
Gomez said in August: “Many people (internationally) love to watch Bayern Munich but the rest of the Bundesliga? Not that much. We want people in Asia or in the U.S. to watch the Bundesliga, not just Bayern Munich.”
The Bundesliga wants to show it is about much more than Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich (Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images)
DFL CEO Merkel said this week Gomez “is exactly right” in his analysis and one way the Germans are seeking to enhance their footprint is by bringing a tournament to the U.S. during pre-season next summer. Relevent has previously aided the English clubs by bringing the ‘Summer Series’ to the U.S., in which six Premier League sides played a tournament in North America during the summer of 2023. Relevent is seeking to repeat the trick and put Manchester United and Liverpool on the ticket next summer but face internal challenges from within English football.
As for Germany, one challenge is how three of its recently successful teams — Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig — are set to be busy next summer playing in the Club World Cup. That would open the door for last season’s champions Bayer Leverkusen, coached by former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso, as potential participants for a Bundesliga-run tournament in pre-season. Merkel said: “The teams not participating in the Club World Cup next year are highly motivated to come to to the U.S. and kick off this partnership.”
Given the strength of domestic fans in Germany, would the Bundesliga rule out taking its competitive games abroad?
Merkel told The Athletic: “German clubs have very strong rules, also because of the ’50+1′ rule and the interplay of fans with the clubs, even the ownership of clubs by fans.
“You were making specific reference to the approach La Liga want to take in the U.S. I respect the La Liga approach but it would be more difficult in Germany. While I see the benefits from a marketing point of view, our focus must be on things that are realistic. And that’s my perspective at the moment — not competitive games, but rather bringing more clubs to the U.S. consistently before a season and focusing on this in the first step.”
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In 2022, Relevent brokered a $1.5billion deal for Paramount Global to broadcast UEFA club competitions in the U.S. across the next six years and has also negotiated on behalf of La Liga to land an eight-year $1.4billion media rights deal with the ESPN+ streaming service in the U.S. and Canada. It recently mediated a contract for Paramount to broadcast the EFL, and has joint ventures with La Liga and the EFL to market their products in the States.
The Ross portfolio of sports and entertainment companies include the Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium (which hosted the Copa America final and is a 2026 World Cup venue), Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix and Miami Open Tennis.
In a press release, Relevent president Boris Gartner said: “This partnership marks a significant step forward in Relevent’s mission to bring the best of international football to audiences in the Americas and help grow the sport. The long-term nature of this collaboration will allow us to expand the Bundesliga’s presence in the region by leveraging our expertise and networks. We’re eager to create new touch points for fans and partners to experience and engage with one of the world’s most historic and celebrated leagues, featuring some of the sport’s most devoted and vibrant supporter bases globally.”
(Top photo: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)