Episode 15 Fan Kultur - Premier League v Bundesliga fan culture

Thank you for your interest in the BvB London fan community podcast as every week the focus of the show will be on exploring a facet of B​orussia Dortmund life by talking to experts and former participants of the club's life, like players, fans, journalists who have covered the club and functionaries and experts and thus make this wonderful club more accessible to non-German speakers but the podcast is also of interest to German football fans who speak English.

The focus of the show is on fan culture in UK vs Germany.  Borussia Dortmund has some of the most loyal and committed fans recognised around the world and the highest attendance of any football club in the world at over 81,000 average per game but what is it that makes German fan culture so unique?

 

What is it that draws so many UK fans to the Bundesliga and BVB week in week out? How does UK fan culture compare? Have we lost our fan atmosphere in UK football grounds? Is English football too commercial? What can we learn from the Bundesliga and BVB? This show is a fan culture special. 

 

Football without the fans is nothing as Jock Stein the great Scottish coach said and empty grounds because of Covid-19 are a major threat to world football on tonight's show Phil and David join Ben along with our special guest Phiilipp Buchner sports presenter with RBB Radio Radio Berlin Brandenburg to debate one of our game's most important issues do we still get a football experience we recognise in England?

 

Here's the show's rundown: 

 

1. Ticket pricing: Always a hot topic is the cost of actually going to watch your club.  In England we are lead to believe that German football is a lot more affordable. With Arsenal charging over £2000 for a season ticket almost 8 times as much as a season ticket at Borussia Dortmund (€230) is English football pricing us out of the game?

2. TV games and fixture times: Pre COVID football across Europe has been moving games for TV with little regard for match going fans.  There have been protests in Germany against Monday night matches but they persist in the second tier 2 Liga, is fixtures scheduling a problem fans in the Uk and Germany share? What can we do about it? 

3. Matches during COVID-19:  Its good to see fans back in German football albeit tiny numbers of locally based fans. Whilst in England you can only attend football in the 7^th tier in crowds up to 600.  Is this a sacrifice worth taking?  How have the steps Germany has done to get fans back and how its been received?  What about piped crowd sound is it a valued innovation or just another gimmick? Does football even matter when people are losing their lives? 

4. Hardcore fans and ultras: In England we see Ultras not as a hooligan but as a group that take their support to the next level organising massive choreographies and displays in grounds, organised fans that have influence with the clubs to an enviable level but is it too much? Who are the Ultras really and what do they do?  Is fan culture dead in the UK? 

5. Safe standing: How is it seen in Germany? Is standing just a cheaper option or the option of choice? Does it improve the atmosphere? Should we bring this back in the UK? 

6. Atmosphere in the grounds: Atmospheres at Premier league games are often dull for many reasons.   Germany is seen a leading light in match day atmosphere, is the case and if so is working for German football and what are we getting wrong in England?

7. Safety at games for away fans: Away fans in England are often treated as second class citizens by match day stewards and police but it’s a lot safer now to attend games as an away fan in the UK than it was 20 years ago but German fans travel to domestic away games in greater numbers and the rail travel is free how does it work? With half of clubs being able to survive on media income alone do fans still count in the Premier League?     

We hope you enjoy the show, remember to send us your comments, share the show with friends and to apply for tickets contact the club via the website which is borussiadortmundlondon.co.uk or join the London BvB community at our online group at Facebook.com/borussiadortmundfanclubengland.

 

During the season you can also come to watch a game at our meet-up Stammtisch at the Naughty Bar, just off Oxford Street, in Cleveland street London.

 

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