DFL donates €1 million for humanitarian aid in Ukraine

3 March 2022 – In light of the war in Ukraine, the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga is donating €1 million for humanitarian assistance. The sum will be made available to recognised aid organisations working to help the Ukrainian population following the Russian invasion. The DFL Executive Committee passed a resolution to this effect on Thursday.

The donation includes all revenues further expected this season from the contract with the Russian media company Match TV – from which the DFL does not want to profit in the current situation. At the same time, the contract will not immediately be terminated, so that the anti-war protests and appeals for peace from German stadiums can continue to reach the Russian population. The condition for this is that Match TV broadcasts the unmodified basic signal provided by the DFL – including Ukraine-related messages from the league, players, clubs and fans – next matchday and beyond.

The DFL will closely monitor the Bundesliga broadcasts in this regard. If the TV basic signal is repeatedly censored, the DFL will terminate the contract.

It goes without saying that if no more licence payments are received from Russia, the DFL will fund the full donation of €1 million.

The DFL immediately condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine in the strongest possible terms – and recommended a minute’s silence at the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches last weekend. Clubs and players also carried out initiatives of their own, for example by designing special shirts, and more are planned for the weekend. In addition, next matchday, the DFL will display the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 logos in the Ukrainian national colours as a sign of solidarity, both for the international basic signal and on its own digital platforms. Corresponding graphic elements have also been made available to national media partners.