BERLIN – Hanover investor Martin Kind has welcomed the German Football League’s decision to consider changes to the 50+1 rule which could allow him to take a majority stake in the Bundesliga club.
The German league (DFL) said on Monday there was a need to discuss the rule so that it balanced “important principles of German football culture” and “at the same time opened new investment opportunities.”
But it said no commitment had been made over potential new regulation after Kind halted his application for an exception to the rule.
“I fully support the DFL decision and invite all clubs to participate constructively,” Kind, who made his money through hearing aids, told the Bild newspaper on Tuesday. He will hold a news conference around 11am GMT.
Bild said 12 of the 18 top-flight German clubs want to ease the rule.
The current rule is part of the DFL statutes, saying clubs organised as capital companies must hold a 51 percent majority of shares in order to stop investors from taking over clubs.
Long-term Hanover investor Kind wants to be allowed to join Hoffenheim (Dietmar Hopp), Bayer Leverkusen (Bayer) and Wolfsburg (Volkswagen) as exceptions where individuals or companies have consistently invested into a club for more than two decades.