Schippers: “We find this system fair and right”

Borussia’s chief executive Stephan Schippers discusses life during the pandemic, fans in the stadium, and the division of TV revenue.

After seven Bundesliga matches, plus three in the Chmapions League and one in the DFB-Pokal, the international break is upon us. BORUSSIA-PARK is quieter than usual, especially with the bars, hotels and shops all closed. There is still plenty to talk about in our interview with Gladbach chief executive Stephan Schippers, though…

Mr. Schippers, how are you feeling about the season so far?

Schippers: I don’t want to go into detail about the sporting side of things – that’s Max Eberl’s area. But I think that we can be really pleased with these first few weeks, and I thought that our Champions League matches on the whole were outstanding. The coronavirus pandemic is obviously having a huge impact on this season, though. We have to live with the new restrictions, just like everyone in our society and economy. What hurts us the most is that our fans can’t be there for the matches. That affects us financially, but even more so emotionally. Having little to no contact with our fans isn’t something that we want in the long-term. We can’t live with that.

When do you think fans will be able to return to the stands?

Schippers: We should all do everything we can to make sure that the government regulations restrict the spread of the virus as much and as fast as possible. That’s the number one priority right now. We can talk about getting spectators back into the stadiums once those measures are able to be relaxed. We have shown that our health and safety concepts work and we would be ready to welcome fans back immediately once it is safe.

Can you give us any insight into how the club’s finances are faring during the pandemic?

Schippers: We are currently on course to make a loss of around 37 million Euros in the 2020 business year. Everyone at Borussia is working hard to limit the damage as much as possible, but obviously this isn’t an easy situation for us.

On Wednesday you took part in a discussion with 14 Bundesliga clubs, plus second-tier Hamburger SV, which caused quite a stir in the press. Why did this meeting take place?

Schippers: There were various topics that needed discussing, such as the division of TV money among other things. Just a few weeks ago, the DFL presidential board was sent a paper by four teams from the Bundesliga and ten sides from the second division. They put forward their desire to have a fairer share of the TV revenue, which caused a lot of confusion around the league and so the other clubs have now met as well.

With what outcome?

Schippers: We had a good discussion and shared our points of view. The division of TV money is up to the DFL board and we have faith that the committee making the decisions will do what is right for the whole league. In general, we don’t think that it is right that this debate begins again every year; there has already been a collective agreement made on this topic, so we should stick to it.

Where does Borussia stand?

Schippers: Borussia Mönchengladbach’s way of operating, along with other clubs like Eintracht Frankfurt, shows that it is possible to compete toward the top of the Bundesliga under your own steam, through sound economics, clever transfer policies and good performances on the pitch. All of that has meant that we now get a bigger slice of the pie than when we were down in the bottom half of the table. We find this system fair and right. We don’t think that sharing out TV revenue regardless of league position is the right way to go, as it stops rewarding those who do good work.

In media reports, Borussia are now placed alongside the five so-called “big clubs”: Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Leipzig and Leverkusen. What does that tell you?

Schippers: It is a sign that our sporting success, our economic performance and the investments we’ve made in the infrastructure at BORUSSIA-PARK are being taken seriously. We have worked hard to achieve what we have. It’s come from our own resources, without investors or company money. If we want more competition at the top of the table then we can’t let the clubs below Bayern and Dortmund be weakened by equal rewards. I think it would be dangerous to stop dividing TV money according to the Bundesliga table. Levelling things would contradict the competition’s principles.