Economic stability, more profile and structure: After the DFB’s latest decisions, Tom Eilers believes the third-highest division is well positioned for the future.
The so-called “Task Force Economic Stability 3rd League “ had been working for a year on measures to stabilise Germany’s lowest professional league. The DFB followed the recommendations of the task force and decided, for example, on tougher sanctions in the event of economic losses, higher requirements for pitch heating and floodlights, but at the same time a lower minimum capacity for stadiums.
The most important point for Eilers, however, is another. “The highest priority, from my point of view, is first of all the structure itself. That is why the message is particularly important to me that the league in its single-track form as a professional division between the 2nd Bundesliga and the Regionalliga is no longer being questioned. The 3rd League works, it has interesting clubs, balanced competition, many fans and good partners. This was also confirmed in the task force,” emphasised the 51-year-old, who is responsible for the licensed player sector in the executive committee of second-division club Darmstadt 98.
Uerdingen and Kaiserslautern as exceptional cases
A topic that is always discussed in connection with the 3rd division is the economic situation – as it is in the task force. “But the causes are very specific depending on the club. In the beginning, it was often clubs that had been relegated from the 2nd Bundesliga and thus already had a backpack to carry. Later, there were examples of clubs that had already been in the league for several years and had not managed to develop over time. The fact is: with the exception of the example of Uerdingen and the insolvency application in Kaiserslautern, where the financial problems did not arise in the 3rd league, all the other third-league clubs came through the Corona crisis quite well. It can’t be quite as terribly unstable as the financial situation of the 3rd Division is often portrayed,” says Eilers.
In future, economic irrationality is to be sanctioned more severely with strict guidelines – in the form of points deductions. “We will now have to observe these instruments and see how quickly and how well the modified equity requirement takes effect,” explains Eilers.
Prevent relocations to other stadiums “as far as possible “
The task force has also addressed one of the “biggest public criticisms of recent years”: the stadium capacity requirement, which has been reduced from 10,001 to 5001 seats. “The change is intended to prevent, as far as possible, clubs from having to relocate to another stadium,” explains Eilers.