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Dortmund insured against Champions League absence

April 23, 2015

A Champions League berth can mean big money for European football teams. But Borussia Dortmund won't suffer financially by missing out on Europe's top club tournament: the team is insured against its own decline.

https://p.dw.com/p/1FE34
Borussia Dortmund
Image: Getty Images

Before the start of this season Borussia Dortmund equipped themselves against a sporting decline. As news agency Bloomberg reported, BVB had an insurance policy in place against the financial loss of not taking part in football's elite competition.

For the first time in five years, Dortmund will not play in the Champions League next year. UEFA revealed that BVB earned 35 million euros ($37.9m) last season from participation.

Policy renewed before the season start

The insurance contract of Germany's only publically traded football club was apparently first agreed in 2012, after the team won its second consecutive Bundesliga title. Before the start of this season that contract was renewed.

Asked about the insurance contract, a club spokesperson said, "The club will make no comment at this time."

The 261-page document from 2014 included, on page 89, the following passage: "The club has insured itself in a number of ways, for example (...) insurance against failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League (...)."

According to Bloomberg, the policy was renewed for the third time at the start of this season. The contract would have been void had head coach Jürgen Klopp or three top players left during the current season. Klopp has announced that he will leave Dortmund, but his departure will not be until the end of this season.

jh/sms (dpa, SID, Bloomberg)