Sponsorships
Borussia Dortmund again has two kit sponsors for the 2022/2023 season. Evonik Industries AG is the kit sponsor for all international club competitions, friendlies staged abroad and DFB Cup matches. 1&1 Telecommunication SE is the kit sponsor for Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga appearances.
General Logistics Systems Germany GmbH & Co. OHG (GLS), a provider of parcel and express services, has deepened its partnership with Borussia Dortmund. GLS became one of Borussia Dortmund’s Champion Partners in July 2021 and has been the club’s sleeve sponsor for both national and international competitions since the 2022/2023 season, including for all of its youth, amateur and women’s teams.
Borussia Dortmund and the multinational technology group Wilo, which has been a Champion Partner since 2011, extended their contract by a further three years until 2026. Beginning in 2023, Wilo will also be Borussia Dortmund’s sustainability partner.
BVB also added three new Premium Partners. The company behind the fantasy sports platform Sorare entered into a long-term partnership with Borussia Dortmund. STIEBEL ELTRON GmbH & Co. KG also joined on as one of BVB’s Premium Partners. The heating manufacturer and Borussia Dortmund entered into a three-year partnership. Workday, a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications, also joined as a Premium Partner until the end of the 2023/2024 season.
Furthermore, Borussia Dortmund expanded its partnership with the Premium Partners Rügenwalder Mühle until 30 June 2025 and with L’Oréal Deutschland GmbH until 30 June 2024.
At the beginning of the 2022/2023 Bundesliga season, menswear specialist MEY & EDLICH was brought on board as Borussia Dortmund’s official fashion partner. Borussia Dortmund also entered into partnerships with The Football Company (until 30 June 2025) and Enders. The barbecue manufacturer Enders and Borussia Dortmund signed a three-year contract.
BVB extended its multi-year partnership with the Melitta Group for a further three years until the end of the 2026/2027 season. The company will thus remain Borussia Dortmund’s official coffee partner.
Borussia Dortmund and the global sports marketing agency SPORTFIVE Germany GmbH, its marketing partner since 1999, extended their partnership early until 30 June 2031.
Given the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic became endemic during the course of the financial year, Borussia Dortmund met all of its contractual service obligations in the 2022/2023 season, in particular its hospitality services, and increased advertising revenue in this and other ways. In light of the new sponsorship contracts and contract extensions it has signed, Borussia Dortmund once again expects that advertising revenue will increase in the coming 2023/2024 financial year.
Transfer deals
Erling Haaland transferred to Manchester City with effect as at 1 July 2022. Manuel Akanji subsequently also moved to the English side. Steffen Tigges left Borussia Dortmund for Bundesliga rivals 1. FC Cologne. Goalkeeper Marwin Hitz transferred to FC Basel in the Swiss first division. In the 2022/2023 winter transfer window, Thorgan Hazard joined first-division Dutch club PSV Eindhoven on loan until 30 June 2023. Striker Ansgar Knauff, who Borussia Dortmund loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2022, made his move permanent.
In June 2023, Borussia Dortmund reached an agreement with top-flight Spanish club Real Madrid to transfer the player Jude Bellingham with effect as at 1 July 2023. The players Raphaël Guerreiro, Mahmoud Dahoud, Anthony Modeste, Felix Passlack and Luca Unbehaun, whose contracts expired on 30 June 2023, were not handed new contracts and the five are free to join other clubs.
Full-back Tom Rothe has extended his contract through to 30 June 2026 and will spend the 2023/2024 season on loan at the up-and-coming second-division club Holstein Kiel to gain match experience.
Capital expenditure
In summer 2022, Borussia Dortmund signed Germany internationals Niklas Süle, Nico Schlotterbeck and Karim Adeyemi and Turkey international Salih Özcan. Borussia Dortmund also signed goalkeeper Alexander Meyer. Furthermore, Borussia Dortmund signed striker Sébastien Haller from Ajax Amsterdam. The Ivory Coast international signed a contract that runs until 30 June 2026. Having undergone chemotherapy to treat a malignant testicular tumour, the player did not celebrate his début for Borussia Dortmund in a competitive match until January 2023. To compensate for the long-term absence of Sébastien Haller, Borussia Dortmund have signed Anthony Modeste from Bundesliga rivals 1. FC Cologne until 30 June 2023. During the winter break of the 2022/2023 season, Borussia Dortmund signed full-back Julian Ryerson from Bundesliga rivals 1. FC Union Berlin. The Norway international’s contract runs until 30 June 2026.
Borussia Dortmund also signed Julien Duranville, a talented winger from RSC Anderlecht. The Belgium U19 international also signed a long-term contract.
Borussia Dortmund also pried Algerian international Ramy Bensebaini away from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach for the 2023/2024 season. The full-back signed a four-year contract.
TV Marketing
One of the main tasks of the German Football League (DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH) is to allocate media exploitation rights at national and international level for first and second Bundesliga division matches as well as for the Super Cup and relegation/promotion play-offs. DFL e.V. distributes the resulting income to recipients including the clubs of the first and second Bundesliga divisions. The media rights to German professional football are allocated every four years for four seasons at a time. The tendering process for the media rights, which is reviewed and approved by competition regulator the German Federal Cartel Office, is open, transparent and non-discriminatory.
The media rights currently allocated relate to the 2021/2022 to 2024/2025 seasons. The clubs can expect income averaging EUR 1.1 billion for these four seasons, corresponding to EUR 4.4 billion in total. The distribution of the TV marketing income was resolved in December 2020. In light of the decline in income from national media rights, the consolidation being seen on international markets and the significant decrease in revenue at the club level during the COVID-19 pandemic, the objective of the distribution system is primarily to ensure stability, while setting the course for the future and promoting solidarity for the clubs at the same time. This offers Bundesliga clubs a solid planning basis. Nevertheless, seasons without interruptions as well as timely payments by partners in line with their contracts are essential for ensuring the amount and timing of the envisaged distribution payouts. DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH and the German Football Association (DFB) agreed on a new agreement setting out the rights and duties of the two organisations that will enter into force on 1 July 2023 and expire on 30 June 2029. Going forward, it clearly defines the financial arrangement between the German Football Association (DFB) and the league (DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga) and thus also indirectly between the clubs of the first and second Bundesliga divisions, and provides long-term planning security.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has waned, it is still indirectly affecting income from international TV marketing of UEFA competitions. The pandemic-related losses for clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League amounted to EUR 416.5 million in the 2019/2020 season and EUR 57.3 million in the 2020/2021 season. So as to stretch the adverse effects out over a longer period, it was decided that the EUR 416.5 million would be withheld from distributions in equal shares (of EUR 83.4 million) over five seasons from 2019/2020 to 2023/2024 and the EUR 57.3 million in equal shares (of EUR 14.3 million) over four seasons from 2020/2021 to 2023/2024. In specific terms, UEFA will make the deductions before distributing funds to the clubs. Nevertheless, the potential income from UEFA competitions remains extremely lucrative. Due to UEFA’s excellent earnings situation, the COVID-19-related deductions envisaged in relation to distributions for the 2022/2023 season were dispensed with, which positively impacted the income from international TV marketing of UEFA competitions. Borussia Dortmund benefited from the distributions by once again competing in the group stage and round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League this season. It will do the same in the coming season after having again qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
For the 2024/2025 season, the UEFA Champions League will follow a new format. A total of 36 teams will play eight matches in a single league, signalling a departure from the six matches played under the current format’s 32-team group stage. This will likely further boost the international TV marketing income generated from competing in the UEFA Champions League.
Match operations
After income from match operations and catering had declined sharply in the past three seasons due to the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Borussia Dortmund played all of its home matches to nearly sell-out crowds during the 2022/2023 financial year. Consequently, ticket proceeds and income from catering during the current financial year rebounded to the pre-pandemic levels last seen during the 2018/2019 season. Borussia Dortmund also expects no restrictions on its ability to generate income from match operations and catering during the upcoming financial year.
Season tickets for the following 2023/2024 season went on sale as usual at the end of the financial year and were capped at the customary limit of 55,000.
Other
On 21 January 2023, Youssoufa Moukoko, a product of BVB’s youth programme and star on the German national team, extended his contract with Borussia Dortmund until 30 June 2026.
Borussia Dortmund has also agreed an early two-year contract extension with Germany international Julian Brandt, whose contract was due to expire in June 2024.
Dortmund native Marco Reus, whose contract originally ran until June 2023, has signed an extension for a further year until the end of the 2023/2024 season.
Centre-back Mats Hummels, whose contract was likewise set to expire in June 2023, also signed as contract extension for a further year until the end of the 2023/2024 season.
Alexander Meyer, Borussia Dortmund’s back-up goalkeeper, signed an early contract extension until 30 June 2025.
Borussia Dortmund also extended its contract with assistant coach Armin Reutershahn early until 30 June 2025.
The Members’ Meeting of BV. Borussia 09 e.V. elected Dr Reinhold Lunow to succeed Dr Reinhard Rauball as president – the club’s highest-ranking position. Dr Reinhard Rauball had held this office for a total of 23 years over the course of three terms. Silke Seidel was elected Vice President, and is the first woman on Managing Board of Directors. In recognition of Dr Reinhard Rauball’s longstanding service, the members of BV. Borussia 09 e.V. elected him as Borussia Dortmund’s first honorary president.
On 20 April 2023, DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH granted Borussia Dortmund the licence for the 2023/2024 season. As in previous years, the licence was granted without any requirements and/or conditions with respect to financial performance.
From 21 November to 1 December 2022, Borussia Dortmund toured Asia with selected players from the youth squads as well as members of the senior squad who did not compete at the World Cup, which was being held concurrently in Qatar. The team made stops in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. During this time, Borussia Dortmund played three test matches, winning two.
Earlier that year, in September 2022, BVB’s Legends team capped off its “True Love” Vietnam tour with a friendly against Vietnam’s all-stars: a team comprising current and former national team players as well as show business stars.
Borussia Dortmund’s senior women’s squad celebrated their second promotion in as many years and have their sights set on the state league title.
On 1 November 2022, Borussia Dortmund became the first German football club to reach 100,000 followers on Twitch.
In the current financial year, Borussia Dortmund published its sixth Sustainability Report* entitled “United by Borussia! Borussia leads the way!” at https://verantwortung.bvb.de/en.
*In accordance with the statutory requirements, the Sustainability Report does not fall under the scope of Deloitte GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft’s audit of the consolidated and annual financial statements.