The 2024 Uefa Champions League final could be described as the perfect match for football purists, with fan-owned Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund, where supporters have a majority ownership stake. Unlike last year’s event, neither side is owned by a Gulf state or massive foreign corporation.
Instead we have a Spanish team which boasts nearly 100,000 “socios” – fan owners who pay an annual fee which entitles them to vote on who runs the club, and the decisions it makes. And while Real Madrid doesn’t trumpet its ownership model quite so much as its Spanish rivals Barcelona, fans continue to play an important role in its governance.
Meanwhile in Germany, the football association’s “50+1” rule from 1998 ensures that at least 50% plus one share of a club is owned by members’ associations. Borussia Dortmund has almost 1,000 officially registered fan clubs, representing some 60,000 fans.
