A game of billions in amateur football: when the money comes in an envelope
Extrapolations based on research by the ARD in cooperation with Correctiv prove what is known in the football scene but is kept secret as a big secret: In German amateur football, more than 100 million euros flow into the pockets of amateur players every month. It is more than one billion euros per season. Of this, 500 million euros are said to be paid as black money. “We don’t have to beat around the bush,” said Tim Cassel, Managing Director of the Schleswig-Holstein Football Association (SHFV) the LN, “We know that happens. But we as an association have no leverage, we only have the role of admonisher. Because clubs that practice something like this endanger the statute of non-profit status, players can be prosecuted for tax evasion.
These extrapolated results are based on an online survey on the CrowdNewsroom platform. More than 10,000 amateur footballers took part. Responses from 8,085 amateur footballers between the ages of 18 and 39 were included in the sample that served as the basis for the extrapolations. Including 224 soccer players from Schleswig-Holstein. 60.2 percent of them have already received money for playing football (fixed monthly amount, point and victory bonuses).
Gray area could be huge
From the calculated sample, 90 percent of the players from the fifth highest division (Oberliga) stated that they received money for playing football in October 2020. Their mean income (median) was 500 euros. Many of the participants report that the money is paid in cash in envelopes. Some of them are aware that it is black money. According to survey participants, around half of the payments were not documented in writing or were made in cash.
No home without football
18.2 percent have already received material assets or services, for example: car, part-time job or building plot. “Without playing football, I wouldn’t have my beautiful home today,” says a kicker from East Holstein, who has been chasing the round leather as an “amateur” for years from the association to the upper league. Money was handed over, partly unashamedly, almost publicly, directly after the game in the parking lot next to the sports field.
144 contract amateurs in SH
What is allowed, when does it possibly become criminal? According to the DFB rules of the game, amateurs may receive up to 250 euros per month as an expense allowance or reimbursement of expenses from their clubs. Anyone who gets more is considered a contract amateur and must be reported as such to their national association. According to SHFV, 144 contract amateurs are registered in the northernmost state, they belong to twelve different clubs. According to LN information, Holstein Kiel is ahead in the ranking with 53 contract amateurs, followed by SC Weiche Flensburg (26), VfB Lübeck (22), 1. FC Phönix Lübeck (18), SV Eichede (12) and Heider SV (5). GW Siebenbaumen has also signed a contract for a kicker, and there are even two at district league club Türkspor Oldesloe. According to an ARD survey, 50 percent of players up to the 7th grade (Verbandsliga) confirm that they get money for kicking. 144 contracts in the SHFV, including a maximum of 250 euros – the gray area could be huge. . .
Cash, vehicle, cell phone
The survey makes it clear that these can take place in very different ways. The presumably most common way: cash in an envelope, handed out in the clubhouse. But sometimes private financiers give the players the money in cash. Others have bogus employment with the sponsor and collect the money without working for it. Sometimes the clubs also offset previously agreed premiums with the mileage allowance – even if the player walks to the sports field. Some have received material assets such as televisions, others are provided with homes and vehicles. Mobile phones, clothing, vacation trips – these are also found in large numbers in the “premium lists”.
See documentation on ARD
This text is part of the amateur football alliance #GABFAF and was created as part of a cooperation between Lübecker Nachrichten, Correctiv and rbb, who were in charge of the research.
The documentary “Amateur football billions game: When the money comes in an envelope” will be broadcast on ARD on January 19 at 11:30 p.m. and can now be seen on the topic page: https://www.sportschau.de/milliardenspiel
offense of infidelity
In an interview with ARD, the renowned sports lawyer Thomas Summerer predicts that this research will trigger “a small earthquake”. “If there are slush funds, (…) then that is already a criminal offense per se, namely infidelity. And of course that is also relevant in sports law, because it is definitely a violation of the statutes of the DFB as well as Fifa and Uefa. Accordingly, sanctions can be imposed.” The clubs were threatened with withdrawal of non-profit status or high additional payments. Players would risk up to five years in prison or fines for tax evasion.
Insider confirms practice
A longtime insider confirmed payments in the amateur sector to the LN, although there would be less money for the players in northern Germany than in the south: “The times when someone showed up with a suitcase full of cash are over. There are many ways to pay players and they are also legal to the tax office, which is also proven by investigations by the authorities at some clubs.”
The term black money should be defined: “If someone slips a ticket to a district league player after a good game, it only becomes black money if this is not stated in the tax return. But who wants to control this form of donation?”
Club loyalty decreases
It is clear to everyone involved that money is a concern for many players: “It’s only among the clubs that you don’t talk about it. But sometimes it happens that the player goes to several clubs with his demands and tries to play them off against each other by saying that another club offers him more,” says the insider: “Overall, it can be said that Loyalty to the club has decreased more and more in recent years and the player goes where there is more for him to get,” said the insider.
Money hardly plays a role for women
Payment in women’s football hardly seems to play a role. This is what 170 women who took part in the survey said.
By Jürgen Rönnau and Christoph Staffen
Reference-www.ln-online.de