Expected revenue trend
Income from match operations
Season tickets for the following season went on sale as usual at the end of the financial year and were capped at the customary limit of 55,000. Borussia Dortmund expects to fully exploit the earnings potential of match operations in the coming financial year as well. As in the previous season, Borussia Dortmund is planning on hosting 17 Bundesliga home matches and, due to the new Champions League format, six UEFA Champions League home matches in the coming season instead of the four home matches as in the previous season. Therefore, it expects income from match operations to exceed the budgeted prior-year figures, also due to the inflation-related adjustments to ticket prices.
Income from advertising
Qualifying for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League continues to place Borussia Dortmund in a better financial position. Playing and delivering positive performances in the competition can widen the club’s media and brand coverage, which promotes the club’s interaction with existing fans and encourages others to begin following Borussia Dortmund. The club intends to promote these effects with a progressive internationalisation strategy that is regularly tailored to current trends. In light of this, Borussia Dortmund aims to further expand and professionalise its digital presence. Borussia Dortmund thereby responds to social trends and to a large degree leverages the attractiveness of the Borussia Dortmund brand. In addition to boosting its digital presence, Borussia Dortmund is reaching out to fans and partners at the local level throughout the world. Against this background, the team also travelled the US in the summer of 2023 during its “Back in Black & Yellow” tour. The return to North America is key to Borussia Dortmund’s internationalisation strategy as the importance of the market is growing in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup and football is gaining in popularity. In March 2024, Borussia Dortmund opened a permanent representative office in New York. This will enable us to serve the American market even better and in a more targeted manner. In the summer of 2025, Borussia Dortmund will also compete at the FIFA Club World Cup. The format of the competition, which will be held from 15 June to 13 July 2025 in the United States, has been expanded and will include 32 teams for the first time. In addition to performing well in the competition, Borussia Dortmund also wants locals to learn about the club’s special history. Borussia Dortmund also travelled to Thailand and Japan as part of its Asia tour in the summer of 2024. To bolster its presence there, Borussia Dortmund played test matches against the Thai club BG Pathum United and the Japanese club Cerezo Osaka. The goal of such trips is to bring the club even closer to and connect with its international fan communities and partners and give all fans from around the world the chance to immerse themselves in the world of Borussia Dortmund. The growing international awareness of the brand that this gives rise to allows the club to tap foreign markets.
Since the 2020/2021 season, Borussia Dortmund has had two different kit sponsors. 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. This innovative sponsorship model was developed as part of the internationalisation strategy and promises further revenue potential in the coming financial year, since it allows the club and its respective partners to target specific markets.
In the 2024/2025 season, Borussia Dortmund once again marketed its virtual advertising boards. SIGNAL IDUNA PARK’s advertising boards can be digitally overlaid in the broadcast signal to target the respective TV audiences when broadcasting matches abroad. For Borussia Dortmund’s international partners in particular, this is an attractive and increasingly popular way to reach their customers worldwide. As part of its digitalisation strategy, Borussia Dortmund has launched a digitalisation initiative at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK – from the media centre to the video walls – to make the stadium digitally fit for the future and even more accommodating to fans and sponsors alike. This digitalisation process will be systemically driven forward.
Despite the recent pandemic and the ensuing economic declines, professional football in Germany has not lost any of its allure. Borussia Dortmund also maintains close and longstanding partnerships with its sponsors. Borussia Dortmund’s long-term partnership with the global sports marketing agency SPORTFIVE Germany GmbH, its marketing partner since 1999, runs until 30 June 2031. The collaboration covers all areas of marketing, such as the acquisition of sponsors, the expansion of partnerships and the marketing of the hospitality areas at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK. Borussia Dortmund and SPORTFIVE Germany GmbH have set themselves ambitious national and international marketing growth targets for the coming years. Borussia Dortmund considers SPORTFIVE Germany GmbH to be a strong and reliable partner with a global marketing network and extensive expertise. Borussia Dortmund has entered into (long-term) contracts with its strategic partners (SIGNAL IDUNA Group until 2031, PUMA International Sports Marketing B.V. until 2028, and 1&1 Telecommunication SE and Evonik Industries AG, each until 2025), which provides long-term planning security. Borussia Dortmund expects to increase the advertising income it generates in the hospitality areas once it commissions the West catering annex in the 2024/2025 season. Borussia Dortmund also extended various other sponsorship relationships and entered into new contracts. The club has lost none of its appeal, despite the recent pandemic. As such, Borussia Dortmund will also operate in a demanding market and competitive environment in the coming season.
Income from TV marketing
Particular focus will be placed on income from TV marketing in connection with the expected general economic environment and the Company’s expected performance.
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. Greater stability and more solidarity are the objectives. 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 at the same time. This offers Bundesliga clubs a solid planning basis.
DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH also informed the clubs of the first and second Bundesliga divisions about the specific expected distribution volume amounting to EUR 1.40 billion for the 2024/2025 season. Accordingly, Borussia Dortmund can expect income of approximately EUR 87.6 million. The announced disbursements of the TV funds will allow for a good degree of planning. Nevertheless, a 2024/2025 season without interruptions as well as timely payments by partners in line with their contracts is essential for ensuring the amount and timing of the envisaged distribution payouts. On 1 July 2023, DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH and the German Football Association (DFB) entered into an agreement setting out the rights and duties of the two organisations that will expire on 30 June 2029. The agreement clearly defines the financial arrangement between the two organisations and thus also indirectly between the clubs of the first and second Bundesliga divisions, and provides long-term planning security.
UEFA also informed the clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League about the expected income distribution from the competition, which will total approximately EUR 2.47 billion in the 2024/2025 season. Having qualified for the UEFA Champions League, Borussia Dortmund will receive a portion of the lucrative disbursements. For the 2024/2025 season, the UEFA Champions League will also follow a new format. A total of 36 teams will play eight matches in a single league phase, signalling a departure from the six matches played under the current format’s 32-team group stage. The top eight finishers will advance to the round of 16, while the teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a play-off round to determine who will be the other eight sides in the round of 16. From the upcoming season onwards, UEFA will divide the aforementioned total distribution amount into three pillars: starting fee; performance-related fixed amounts; and value pillar. Borussia Dortmund expects to receive approximately EUR 89.1 million in income from TV marketing from UEFA, provided the club advances to the round of 16.
In the summer of 2025, Borussia Dortmund will also compete at the FIFA Club World Cup. The format of the competition, which will be held from 15 June to 13 July 2025 in the United States, has been expanded and will include 32 teams for the first time. Borussia Dortmund expects to generate tens of millions in income from TV marketing, even if FIFA has not yet definitively determined the exact total payout amount for this competition and how it will be distributed.
Income from merchandising
The record merchandising income generated in financial year 2023/2024 was attributable to non-recurring effects (primarily the team playing a fantastic season in the Champions League and reaching the final and two special edition kits that were released in this financial year). It is unlikely that these effects will be repeated to this extent in the 2024/2025 financial year, even though it goes without saying that Borussia Dortmund will continue to set itself ambitious merchandising targets. Nevertheless, merchandising income is expected to be lower than in financial year 2023/2024 due to the lack of the aforementioned non-recurring effects. As demonstrated in the 2023/2024 financial year, income from merchandising is also always dependent on the team’s performance on the pitch and the overall state of the economy.
Conference, catering and miscellaneous income
In addition to catering income on match days, marketing the stadium unlocks further income potential. This includes organising stadium tours and hosting external events in the hospitality areas. Football training courses are also on offer. Borussia Dortmund expects to generate corresponding income from the marketing of SIGNAL DUNA PARK, in particular from the marketing activities during the 2024 European Championships, which relate to the 2024/2025 financial year as well.
Net transfer income
Transfer deals are an important part of Borussia Dortmund’s business and, as in previous years, represent a significant source of income. However, in view of the developments in the economic environment, Borussia Dortmund on principle only takes transfer income into limited account in its planning. The transfer policy nevertheless presents significant opportunities to generate substantial income. Consequently, transfer deals are always assessed against the background of the current season. High transfer sums often go hand in hand with a drop in quality within the team, but it cannot be ruled out that value-driven transfers will be concluded contrary to the Company’s sporting interests. Given Borussia Dortmund’s sustained success, its players are increasingly piquing the interest of other top clubs.
The ongoing war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza and the associated global economic uncertainty continue to impact transfer deals. Based on the previous summer transfer windows during the pandemic, it can be assumed that the decline in income experienced by clubs around the world will continue to temporarily reduce the overall transfer fees received for players (with the exception of the transfer fees paid in the Middle East and the English Premier League or for veritable superstars). Despite the expected potential losses and the uncertainty as the situation continues to unfold, the European leagues remain attractive for talented young players. Besides that, Borussia Dortmund has an excellent team. An active transfer market can be expected all the same in the summer of 2024, with some very lucrative deals in the pipeline. Therefore, Borussia Dortmund expects that its transfer deals will continue to contribute significantly to earnings in the coming financial year.