DFL awards licenses for the 2021–22 season
1 June 2021 – All 36 applicants that qualify on the basis of sporting performance are receiving a licence to participate in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 for the upcoming 2021–22 season. In the licensing process, financial, sporting, legal, staffing, administrative, infrastructural and media-related criteria were examined in accordance with the licensing regulations of the DFL with a view to ensuring honest and fair competition. Some clubs will be required to satisfy certain requirements in the upcoming season.
In examining various criteria, the DFL can impose conditions or obligations on applicants in accordance with its Licensing Regulations. One condition stipulates that certain requirements must be met by a set date before the new season so that – subject to all other criteria being satisfied – a licence can be issued for the coming season in the first place. Another condition defines the criteria that must be maintained throughout the relevant season once a licence has been issued. Against the backdrop of the ongoing economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, and in light of a resolution brought about by the DFL Members Assembly on 18 February 2021, conditions relating to the financial criteria will be replaced on a one-time basis in the licensing process for the 2021–22 season by requirements that must be satisfied by 15 September 2021. With regard to other criteria, it remained possible to issue conditions.
Over the past few months, the DFL provided information regarding the licensing process for the 2021–22 season: