“Sustainability in Sport Organisations”: DFL launches further education programme with Leuphana University and SPONSORs

04 July 2022 – The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga is partner and co-creator of the new “Sustainability in Sport Organisations” further education programme, which provides academic support for employees of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs to build on their sustainability expertise. The programme is being implemented in association with Leuphana University Lüneburg and SPONSORs. Leuphana University has a wealth of experience in the field of sustainability management, while SPONSORs already provides various educational opportunities in sport, including with its SPOAC Academy.

The new programme follows the recent resolution by the DFL Members Assembly to include binding sustainability guidelines in the licensing regulations of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. Specific measures will be continually developed and expanded based on the guidelines and the corresponding framework for guidance and action. The clubs had already added a clear commitment to the three main aspects of sustainability (ecological, economical and social) to the preamble to DFL e.V.’s statutes in December 2021.

Alongside their work, participants in the new further education programme will be taught a wide range of content across three modules, each comprising three days in the classroom at the Leuphana campus in Lüneburg (supplemented by e-learning), including an introduction to the topic, sustainability and environmental strategies, and helpful implementation methods – always with a tangible connection to sport organisations. Further information is available at nachhaltigkeit-im-sport.de (German language only).

Sustainability is also a focus of the cooperation between the DFL and SPONSORs – which was renewed in December 2021 – regarding the sports business event SPOBIS. With support from the DFL, SPONSORs will present the first Award for Sustainability in Sport (“Award für Nachhaltigkeit im Sport”) at SPOBIS on 20 September 2022 – entries can be submitted at sport-nachhaltigkeit.de (German language only) until 20 July 2022.