St. Pauli president: “We are happy to present a different alternative in professional football”

• St. Pauli's "Football Cooperative" aims to raise €30 million through fan shares, securing stadium ownership, clearing debts, and funding community projects while challenging traditional football business models.
• “You can’t always blame modern football and its capitalist systems without having an alternative,” says St. Pauli's president, as the club reimagines ownership with transparency and community at its core.
• Why it matters: St. Pauli’s refusal to sell naming rights, reject investors, and even leave X (formerly Twitter) illustrates a commitment to long-term social impact over short-term financial gains.
• The perspective: St. Pauli’s approach to modern football reflects a clear effort to balance commercial realities with the club's social and community-driven priorities.

By Jacob Espensen , Editor, Off The Pitch

On November 10, 2024, FC St. Pauli von 1910 e.V. made history by launching the "Football Cooperative Sankt Pauli," a bold move that exemplifies the club's commitment to standing out in the world of professional football.?

As the first German club to introduce a cooperative ownership model, St. Pauli allows fans to purchase shares for €850, aiming to raise €30 million.?

This initiative secures majority ownership of the Millerntor Stadium, clears debts, and funds community projects, youth development, and women's football. It’s not just a fundraising effort—it’s a statement of values in a sport increasingly dominated by commercial interests.

“We’re pretty optimistic that we’re going to reach something in between €22 to €30 million after three months,” says Oke Goettlich , president of FC St. Pauli.?

The project, nearly a decade in the making, is a radical reimagining of football ownership. It represents “the alternative against modern football,” G?ttlich explains, in response to a sport he thinks has become increasingly capitalist.?

“You can’t always blame modern football and its capitalistic and capital ingestion systems without having an alternative.”

Financial stability

A unique feature of the cooperative is its democratic structure: each member gets one vote, regardless of the number of shares they own. It is aimed at ensuring transparency and equitable decision-making on key matters such as board composition, potential dividends, and investments in stadium-related projects.?

“It’s a capital gaming system, but it’s the one which keeps the values of member participation and transparency in the highest possible way,” G?ttlich emphasises.?

Beyond financial stability, the cooperative also serves a deeper purpose. “It helps people get back responsibility in their community,” he adds.

The response from the supporters was?swift, with nearly €10 million raised two days after the launch. If the full €30 million target is achieved, the cooperative will own a 60 per cent stake in the stadium.?

The challenges of balancing values and viability?

The cooperative is a striking example of how St. Pauli prioritises its values over commercial gains. Yet this approach comes with sacrifices.?

“We are by far not competitive when it comes to budgets in the Bundesliga,” G?ttlich admits, acknowledging the financial constraints the club faces. ?

“We are not selling our stadium name, we are not taking in investors, we have not structured our professional football team outside of the membership organisation,” G?ttlich explains.

These choices mean that the club must find innovative ways to generate revenue without compromising their principles. For instance, their main sponsor, Congstar, actively participates in anti-racism campaigns.?

“Our main sponsor is doing anti-racism campaigns in our partnership with them, and this is something where we to a certain extent get money out of political social symbols and signs,” G?ttlich notes.

St. Pauli’s decisions often entail short-term losses for long-term gains. A recent is the club's choice to leave the social media platform X.

“We were the first club to leave X (former Twitter), and that is also something where we in the first instance might see a commercial downfall, but in the long term, we really think it helps us having a strong brand,” G?ttlich says.

A club with a purpose

After 13 seasons in a row in the 2. Bundesliga St. Pauli now finds themselves back in the Bundesliga, striving to prove that values and modern football success can coexist.

“Even though we never won a cup or anything, we are one of the best-known brands in Germany when it comes to football. But it is not a marketing strategy,” G?ttlich asserts.?

St. Pauli have always positioned themself as a club that challenges the norms of professional football, particularly when it comes to social responsibility. The club's pioneering efforts in creating a more inclusive environment within the sport have set it apart.

As G?ttlich explains, these initiatives were part of the club's broader commitment to social impact.?

“In the very conservative structure of professional, and especially modern football, it is very important to have a club which was the first, at least in Germany, who has stadium rules to stand against racism, who has been the first club in Germany to found a fan project with social work for young people and being the first club in Germany who has a quota for women in their boards,” G?ttlich highlights.

Serve the community

In a landscape where financial power often defines success, St. Pauli’s strategy has been to maintain a focus on their values while navigating the economic challenges of top-tier football. The club continues to establish a distinct identity that resonates with their supporters.?

“We have a stadium for only 30,000 people, we have a neighbour who is bigger than us, but we can compete because we have such a strong brand. So, the social impacts are helping the football and the football, of course, is impacting the social things,” G?ttlich explains.

While certain choices may limit immediate commercial growth, St. Pauli's approach reflects their belief in football’s ability to serve the community, with an emphasis on long-term impact over short-term financial returns. Or as G?ttlich puts it:

“What we are doing is trying to be progressive on some of the fields which are not potentially leading to commercial success right away, but in the mid- and long term.”

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