Германы хөлбөмбөгийн холбооны удирдлагууд 2038 эсвэл 2042 оны ДАШТ-ийг эх орондоо хүлээн авах хүсэлтэй байгаагаа илэрхийллээ.
Айнтрахт Франкфуртын гүйцэтгэх захирал бөгөөд Германы хөлбөмбөгийн холбооны удирдах зөвлөлийн гишүүн Аксель Хеллманн тус улс тэмцээн зохион байгуулахад шаардлагатай дэд бүтэц, цэнгэлдэх хүрээлэнгийн бүрэн боломжтой гэдгийг онцолжээ. Хэдийгээр ФИФА-гийн ээлжлэн зохион байгуулах зарчмын дагуу 2038 онд Хойд Америк эсвэл Далайн орнууд нэр дэвших магадлал өндөр байгаа ч Герман улс 2042 оны тэмцээнд илүү бодитой боломжтой гэж үзэж байна. Хеллманн 2006 оны ДАШТ-ийг зохион байгуулсан туршлага нь улс орны имижийг дэлхийн тавцанд эергээр өөрчилсөн шиг дахин нэг амжилттай кампанит ажил өрнүүлэх хүсэлтэй байгаагаа илэрхийлсэн юм.
Үүний зэрэгцээ тэрээр ФИФА-гийн энэ зуны ДАШТ-ий тасалбарын үнийн бодлогыг эрс шүүмжилж, хэт өндөр үнэ нь хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн дунд нийгмийн ялгаварлан гадуурхалтыг бий болгож байна гэв. Хеллманны үзэж буйгаар хөлбөмбөг бол бүх нийтийн спорт бөгөөд тасалбарын үнийг хямд байлгаж, залуу үеийнхэнд цэнгэлдэх хүрээлэнгээс тоглолт үзэх боломжийг бүрдүүлэх нь нэн чухал юм. Тэрээр Айнтрахт Франкфуртын жишгээр тасалбарын үнийн уян хатан бодлого баримталж, зогсож үзэх суудлыг тэмцээнд нэвтрүүлэх нь зүйтэй гэсэн байр суурьтай байна.
Германы хөлбөмбөгийн холбооны ерөнхийлөгч Бернд Нойендорф нэр дэвших асуудлыг ирээдүйд хэлэлцэхээр төлөвлөж байгаа бөгөөд одоогоор ФИФА-гийн зүгээс тодорхой шийдвэр гараагүй байна. Хеллманн олон улсын хэмжээнд дипломат харилцааг хадгалах үүднээс холбоод энэ асуудлаар ил тод шүүмжлэл өрнүүлэхээс зайлсхийж байгааг дурджээ. Гэсэн хэдий ч Герман улс өөрийн амбицаа харуулах нь нийгэмдээ эерэг дохио өгөх чухал алхам гэж үзэж байна.
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One of German football’s leading executives says that his country should be considered a leading contender to host the men’s World Cup in either 2038 or 2042.
Axel Hellmann, the CEO of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and a member of the German Football Association (DFB)’s management board, has told The Athletic that Germany would have “the full infrastructure for everything that is needed”, while also expressing fears that the record-high ticket pricing set by FIFA this summer could set a dangerous precedent for future competitions.
Bernd Neuendorf, the president of the DFB, has previously suggested his organization would address the question of a bid in the future. Hellmann says: “We would love to, and there is an initiative by Neuendorf and the DFB to run for 2042, maybe 2038. It depends on FIFA regulations.” The DFB declined to comment, with FIFA’s bid processes for the two tournaments yet to open.
One of the challenges to a German bid for 2038 is FIFA’s confederation rotation principle. Two tournaments must pass by before a confederation can host another World Cup. In 2030, the tournament will be shared across three continents (Africa, Europe and South America) and six countries (Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay).
This made the 2034 tournament essentially a fait accompli for Saudi Arabia, which belongs to the Asian confederation. Under the rotation principle, this would leave only North America and Oceania as options for 2038, and, as Australia belongs to the Asian confederation, the door appears firmly open for a return to the United States, which co-hosted the 2026 tournament with Canada and Mexico, and is set to host the 2031 women’s tournament with Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica.
U.S. President Donald Trump has already publicly saidhe would like to host another men’s World Cup, while White House World Cup task force director Andrew Giuliani has said he believes the U.S. could “handle” an expansion to 64 teams.
Germany fans celebrate the team finishing third at the last men’s World Cup it hosted in 2006 (Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)
“There’s no better country that’s positioned to host a World Cup than the United States,” said Giuliani.
Hellmann says he is unsure if FIFA would need to change the rule, suggesting it could demonstrate the “elasticity” it has previously shown when making unorthodox policy decisions. He says the fact the 2030 competition is split across three tournaments means it should not rule out a European nation from hosting, or co-hosting, the World Cup two cycles down the line.
He says: “Germany has the stadium infrastructure, mobility infrastructure and hotel infrastructure. Every single game will be sold out. It will be a success. There is space for (a bid) in 2038, but I’m quite sure for 2042 we have very good chances to run a successful campaign.”
Hellmann says the ultimate responsibility will fall on Neuendorf, as DFB president, but the Frankfurt CEO says “it’s important to send a signal to German society” that the nation is interested and ambitious. There have been some suggestions in France of a joint bid with Germany but Hellmann says it is too early to say whether his country would host alone or with partners.
“One thing is clear: Germany has the full infrastructure for everything that is needed. The number of stadiums at a certain size, as well as the training grounds we need. The infrastructure is there, but we need, let’s say, somehow modern or reshaped stadiums.” Hellmann says he would like to see a significant number of stadiums either improved or newly constructed.
He says a World Cup would involve a “massive investment program” but says the returns from the 2006 edition, the last time Germany hosted a World Cup, were significant in changing the way his nation was viewed globally. “Germany in those times, we weren’t in very good shape as a country, as an economy,” Hellmann says. “The perception of Germany as a country changed totally in 2006 from, ‘the Germans, they’re too serious’ to ‘Germany is a great country with great hospitality.’
“The doors we could open in the global market were massive. I said this was the best marketing and branding campaign we’ve ever done. We invested in public transport and this could be used long-term for the whole society.”
Hellmann praised the 2026 edition of the World Cup, saying it made sense to join the U.S. with Canada and Mexico and said he was impressed by how passionate the U.S. became for the tournament once it was on the country’s doorstep. However, he said FIFA’s pricing of the tournament was “totally against the concept we follow as a club (in Frankfurt).”
“Social barriers shouldn’t work as a way to keep people away from the matches,” Hellmann said. “You create social barriers with your ticket price policy.”
At Eintracht Frankfurt, fans can buy cheap tickets, which he says are subsidized by having expensive hospitality tickets in higher price brackets. “This is solidarity because the people with deep pockets support the guys who can’t do more,” he said.
Fans also travel via cheap public transport, while some cities in the U.S. — notably Boston and New York/New Jersey — implemented special event pricing that saw fans asked to pay up to seven times the usual price of a ticket for the service during the World Cup.
“Football is the sport of the people and it belongs to a certain extent to the people,” Hellmann says. “If you want to create an experience for young kids to get this impulse and this magnetic effect of football, they have to follow a live match. That means you have to involve everybody — it’s much bigger than just a market or a capitalist system. It is about participation for everybody at the end.”
Why does Hellmann believe the FIFA tickets were priced so high? “Their financial interests play a role. It is also a way to keep certain groups away from football that you don’t want to have. Sometimes I see that also in continental Europe if you don’t want to have ultras or other groups in the stadium.
“I can accept that there’s a calculation on the whole tournament. I’m not a guy who’s against a good and straight financial calculation that also gives long-term benefit to a lot of associations that do not participate — but get the solidarity fee out of the tournament.
“The other point is I’m a bit afraid of the future of modern football if we use a price policy just to select groups who can participate in football.
“I would even introduce safe standing again in these tournaments. We have great experience in Germany with safe standing, because this allows for cheap prices affordable for everybody.”
Axel Hellmann says the “fear” is FIFA will seek to repeat its 2026 ticket price models (Ralf Ibing – firo sportphoto/Getty Images)
Is Hellmann worried that FIFA will seek to repeat the 2026 price models at future World Cups?
“That’s what I fear, yes,” Hellmann says. “That’s why we should start a discussion about the future price policy.
“Sometimes I know people are rolling with their eyes about the Germans with their social approach to football. But it’s a good approach because then football is always close to people. That is the point. It allows everybody to participate, and that’s what I always say: if you follow an Eintracht Frankfurt match in the stadium, you don’t become a Paris Saint-Germain fan on the sofa.
“If we want to have the young kids really bound to football, this is the most important thing to give them: the live experience.”
Inside the World Cup ticket price jump
Henry Bushnell
One difference outside the U.S. will be that many other countries forbid the resale platforms that saw tickets for some games sell on for even higher prices. It is notable that very few national associations appeared to push back publicly on FIFA’s pricing. The DFB managing director Andreas Rettig did say his association would have liked to see cheaper tickets and also said it was only informed of the prices by FIFA a few hours before the start of the application process.
“There’s a lot of diplomacy because it’s difficult to start a debate,” Hellmann says. “To a certain extent you want to avoid any consequences because of a critical debate in FIFA.”
That becomes especially the case when a federation requires FIFA’s support for a World Cup bid. Hellmann says he has no personal issue with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“We have to accept that FIFA is not only consisting of one association or the European association,” Hellmann acknowledges. “There are also others in the world who can just be happy to participate and to be a part of the tournament. FIFA has to see the whole variety of all the countries.
“I don’t believe it makes sense to start a debate on your own. We have too many, too different interests in the whole FIFA landscape.”
