DFL rewards 106 amateur clubs for the development of professional players
18 October 2022 – This year, DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga has once again supported the amateur clubs below 3. Liga that were involved in the training of players who went on to play in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. In total, 106 clubs shared more than €1.5 million in funding, after 60 professional players made their debuts in the top two tiers of German football during the past 2021-22 season.
Players making their first appearances in the previous season included Angelo Stiller as a midfielder for TSG Hoffenheim. His first match in the Bundesliga benefits TSV München-Milbertshofen, whose men’s team plays in Munich’s second district league. Stiller, who is now a U21 international player, first played for TSV München-Milbertshofen as a child from 2006-2010.
Kevin Schade from Sport-Club Freiburg, Stiller’s teammate in the U21 national team, also made his Bundesliga debut last season, for which SV Babelsberg 03 and FC Energie Cottbus each received a training reward. Schade played for Babelsberg from 2008-2014 and for Cottbus from 2014-2018.
The training reward is given to amateur clubs that coach players who later go on to become professional. This coaching can take place at any point from the season of the player’s 6th birthday to the season of their 21st birthday. The clubs receive €4,200 for each full season of training between the player’s 6th and 11th birthdays. For training from the player’s 12th to 21st birthdays, the clubs receive €5,400 per season. This reward system, revised by the DFL in favour of amateur clubs, was first implemented in the 2017-18 season. Prior to this date, only the five previous seasons before each player’s debut were considered.
Since 2017-18, a total of more than €8 million has been paid to clubs below 3. Liga.
Here is a list of all clubs that received a reward, the players who made their debuts, and the professional Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs for which they played for the first time in the 2021-22 season: