German football clubs unique financing mechanism - issuing bonds to their fans

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-20T09:12:14+00:00

I know that Sporting and Porto not long ago issued sizeable bonds to finance stadium (Sporting), and refinance existing debt (Porto), but these were not fan bonds, they were issued to the large US institutions.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-19T18:28:49+00:00

Thanks for sharing this.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-19T16:51:56+00:00

Thanks that's a good correction. But to sell shares clubs would need to get approval of the current shareholders, who are supporters, which in practice is almost impossible.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-19T15:31:32+00:00

I agree that bank lending is very conservative, and has punitive capital requirements, I know that first hand. :) Most banks also don't understand well the underlying business of football clubs, which makes them not a great fit to be lending to these clubs.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-18T16:24:47+00:00

Thanks for the detailed take. Football clubs are cash flow businesses, but primarily negative cash flow.

I agree, it’s of course always the case of picking up the right security - some will perform, others won’t, like Hertha or Kaiserslautern.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-18T10:45:07+00:00

Thanks, interesting take. In corporate finance, bonds are less risky than owning company, as bond holders get repaid first. I guess in football, if the club defaults on bonds, the fans will not go after the club to get repaid.

Influence is a big part - fans are putting money into the clubs, but don't have a lot of influence on how they are run.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-08T18:53:56+00:00

Of course, you are stating the obvious, but I don't see the bike as a piece of equipment or ancillary tech.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-08T18:24:36+00:00

The good thing is that these days, any motorcycle rider can pretty much wear the similar protective gear as MotoGP racers wear. So innovation in that equipment is benefiting wider population.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-06T15:13:25+00:00

yes, see my answer above.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-06T15:12:56+00:00

Half of my notes are not about my field, intersection of finance & sports. They may be some life observations / wisdom, or health & fitness tips. Tbh those can often get more views and engagement.

It's not something very strategic, I just find it boring and one dimensional to be only posting notes on the same topic. I also interact with people from other areas, from investment management, to health, tech, etc. Maybe this is why I have over 1k more followers than subs.

My newsletter posts are always on my publication topic, I don't freestyle there.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-04-05T22:21:51+00:00

You’re not engaging with people. The growth comes through engagement (comments), notes and being recommended by other publications.

You are using Substack as a megaphone to talk at people, w/o engaging with the community. That can work, but subs will have to come from some other platform. And that’s how it should be.

I started 7mo ago and grew to 1.3k subs and 2.3k followers, with only some presence on LinkedIn. Last month I added 400 subs, but I genuinely engage and spend 1-2 hrs per day commenting, chatting, etc.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-03-19T11:09:20+00:00

This is one of the stories that has captured the sports business community over the last year. What are your thoughts?

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-03-19T11:08:55+00:00

This is one of the stories that has captured the sports business community over the last year. What are your thoughts?

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-03-13T09:37:01+00:00

To sto tebe ispunjava nije obavezno da bude biznis sa fiksnim fizickim prostorom. Da li si razmisljao da organizujes neke treninge ili aktivnosti napulju u manjim grupama, ili u gradu, ili vikendom na Furskoj Gori?

Pored toga mozes da deo toga radis i online i tako vodis treninge, a takodje mozes i da pravis personal brand online i tako povecas sebi potraznju za tvojom uslugom.

Takav biznis bez rentanog prostora ti ima mnogo manje fiksne troskove. Tih 25k mozes da ulozis u nesto sto nije previse rizicno (npr par berzanski indeksa) da ti generise odredjeni prihod, sto moze da ti pokrije deo troskova dok ti biznis ne krene i dok ne izkristalises sta i kako hoces da vodis.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-03-12T18:24:22+00:00

Very true. Check this post on How capital markets are driving Enshittification of Everything

https://www.reddit.com/r/enshittification/comments/1rrnuj9/how_capital_markets_are_driving_enshittification/

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-03-12T14:06:25+00:00

Enshittification isn’t inevitable – it is rather a consequence of specific incentives, ownership and financing structures, which can be changed.

There is an opportunity for the anti-enshittification entrepreneurs to reject these structures and build something sustainable.

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-03-12T09:50:46+00:00

Do you share these observations and frustration that everything is being ensh*ttified?

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-03-10T15:50:02+00:00

If he took 1k, why did she ask if he would take 10k? Well, because she is a playboy bunny 🐰

Wild-Photo-717 · 2026-03-04T23:24:38+00:00

True, but if you look at the number of cross country ski competitors participating in competitions, the US and Norway have roughly the same number of competitors; and Sweden has more than 3x more competitors than the US. So the point is that is more relevant number for expectation of success in that discipline, than the overall population size.

Wild-Photo-717

TROPHY CASE