“We’re very pleased that we’ve been able to demonstrate the care and skill with which the club’s finances are handled, and that we’ve been given the green light for these loans. We are grateful to the political decision-makers involved, particularly those in the economic and financial sectors, for allowing us to obtain the funding necessary to cover the pandemic-related shortfalls that have affected the club in this unprecedented time. The loans are subject to regular market conditions. We will continue to work hard to stabilise the club’s finances and to ensure that Werder Bremen remains a reliable partner to work with into the future,” said Klaus Filbry on the good news.

Kristina Vogt, Senator for Economy, Work and Europe: “Alongside the great importance that SV Werder Bremen has in sporting terms for the city and state of Bremen, the state guarantee of the loans will serve to provide security for workplaces and companies in the region. The club itself has around 250 employees. On a normal matchday, without coronavirus-related implications, each home game involves about 1,700 further members of staff. Every home matchday sees companies in Bremen earn around 15 million euros, and more than half of that is to gastronomy within and outside of the stadium. In addition, Werder Bremen is a real symbol of the city of Bremen – and not just for the local people. We would have to spend a lot of money to give Bremen the media profile that the club has provided it. SV Werder Bremen – like other companies in Bremen – has had to go through intense, standardised screening in the process of obtaining the state as a guarantor.”

SV Werder Bremen had originally applied for liquidity help from the government’s 2020 KfW programme, introduced to support firms in financial difficulty due to the coronavirus. Only recently, the programme showed the first tentative but positive signs when considering the application, but a final decision continued to appear a long way away. As the pandemic once again worsened in autumn, the board at SV Werder Bremen were forced to find alternative solutions to enable secure financial planning in this continuingly difficult period.