European sports may switch to “daylight saving time” due to the energy crisis
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Union Bundesliga football club president Dirk Zingler spoke of the possibility of ending the competition in the winter: “You can freeze and the beer is too cold.” MK tells how the European policy of sanctions and exceptions hits its own athletes and fans.
It is even surprising that possible problems with holding sports competitions in Europe have only just been publicly discussed – after all, high gas prices, lack of heating and hot water, possible famine, European politicians and townsfolk have been discussing for more than a month. And if in many cities they are even forced to turn off fountains and night illumination of state institutions and architectural monuments for the sake of economy, then it will definitely be difficult to spend scarce resources on mass sporting events. More precisely, it is impossible. If it’s really that bad.
The authoritative German publication Berliner Zeitung published a long interview with the president of the professional metropolitan football club “Union” Dirk Zingler. He said that in the current difficult situation, it is better to play football from May to August. Not in winter when it’s cold.
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Before taking a closer look at Herr Zingler’s initiatives, there are a few important points to note.
Firstly, Union is located in the southeastern Berlin district of Köpenick and was part of the GDR before the fall of the wall. What, by the way, Zingler says in his interview. Why is it important? Because both the philosophy of the club and the worldview of its president were formed during the socialist period. Hence, some radicalism of views.
Secondly, again because of its historical past, Union is not the richest club among the Bundesliga teams in which it plays. And in terms of the size of their budget, they are definitely not equal to Bayern or Borussia. This means that you have to save much more.
Finally, the competition calendar in Europe is extremely conservative. It directly depends on the economy. If there is no money, then they will not play. Therefore, national championships are interconnected with European cups and other European tournaments. And first of all, the interests of sponsors are taken into account. Although the fans are not forgotten. Still, they also pay their money. So football in Europe is played according to the autumn-spring system, with the exception of the Scandinavian countries, where it is very cold in winter. And if you ask the British to cancel their famous Christmas football Boxing Day, then you may simply not be understood. After all, the Christmas tradition was not interrupted even during the First World War.
Is the situation really that critical? And what else does Dirk Zingler talk about besides football?
“We must get rid of the habit of always teaching everyone else, always being above others. A good example is the World Cup in Qatar. There are many things that do not correspond to our social norms and social standards. Many of the rights applicable in Western democracies do not yet exist in other regions of the world. In West Germany, homosexuality itself was punishable 30 years ago.
We must shed our Western arrogance and use the World Cup in Qatar or sports in general to build bridges between different cultures, norms and values. I like the term “international understanding in sports”, an old term from the GDR. But today, sport is increasingly living with “exceptions and limitations.” We are constantly boycotting, sanctioning, distancing ourselves for ideological reasons. All this alienates people, nations from each other. I think this is a very bad development. Both I and our club do not want to participate in this, ”says the president of the Union, whose very name translates as“ Union ”, says in an interview.
Asked about the threats to the German economy from high energy prices, Zingler says: “We need to create conditions where people can still afford to go to football and will continue to do so in the future. At our stadium, tickets for the best seats for Bundesliga matches cost 15 euros. For us, football is not a business or maximizing sales. For us, football is an opportunity to give people joy and happiness for three hours once a week.
We need to think carefully: do we want to play from May to August in the future, and not in winter? In winter we need lighting and heating. The Scandinavians play in the summer, but not in the winter. If everything that is predicted really happens, we in the Bundesliga also need to discuss “game plans” with our media partners. It’s still better in summer than in winter when you get cold and the beer is too cold.”
The reasons for a possible crisis not only in European football, but also in all sports, the entire economy are obvious to Zingler.
“The state must take care of people who need its help, and there are millions of them in Germany. Why do I, a self-sufficient entrepreneur, receive an energy allowance of 300 euros? I don’t need them, but others need 600 euros. We have real problems in Germany,” states the president of Union.
Zingler is right about a lot of things. For comparison: the organization of one match in the Russian Premier League, at the most modest prices, costs more than three million rubles. Electricity, cleaning, security organization, heating and many other direct and indirect costs. But sports facilities must be maintained in working order not only on match days. And to pay salaries to their employees not only when Zenit beats Spartak. Professional sport is a very expensive occupation. And even multibillion-dollar sponsorship contracts of Euro tournaments and Euroleagues may not cover the ever-increasing costs of energy resources. Therefore, without government support, many sports in Europe may simply disappear. If they continue to follow the path of “boycott, sanctions, exceptions and restrictions”, as Zingler aptly noted.
Newspaper headline:
European crossbow
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