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Bayern chief cautiously open to fans returning in 2021

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Former Germany star and Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is excited to see the supporters back in the stadium in 2021.

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is optimistic about the idea of supporters occupying the stadium in Bundesliga in 2021. Although COVID hit the world in March, a lot of German teams welcomed their fans back at the start of the new season. However, clubs were later forced to shut down the stadium doors due to the escalating coronavirus situation.

But Rummenigge believes that the club will make sure all the health and safety protocols are followed when the time comes. “I think the whole world is waiting for the vaccine. And hopes it will bring back certain normality,” he told the club’s website.

Precautions will be taken.

“We at Bayern constantly adapt our hygiene concepts. We are constantly striving to optimize. To be ready for when the time comes that it’s once again possible to visit the stadium without worrying about your health. Predictions are difficult. I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll once again have spectators back in the Allianz Arena over the course of the year.”

Furthermore, Rummenigge also hopes that the country finds solutions to the issues caused by the pandemic. And that football continues to prosper after the end of the crisis. “The economic damage is enormous. But our industry is even more seriously affected by the fact that our fans aren’t allowed into stadiums because of this virus,” he said.

“Because at the end of the day, it’s about exciting people. I really hope 2021 will soon bring solutions. For football but above all for society as a whole.” He added: “The Bundesliga, on the whole, has dealt relatively well with this crisis. We developed a concept and strategy early on. Our restart last spring drew attention from around the world. That was important as a sign that things are moving forward.

“The economic damage is more severe for the bigger clubs because they have higher running costs. For example, there has still been no correction in the salary structure for the top players. Those who reach for the top shelf still have to accept spending a lot.

“On the other hand, transfer spending has halved compared to previous years. We’re not experiencing absurd sums as we did two years ago. And I doubt whether the amounts will ever reach such dimensions again.

“In principle, that’s good because very few fans had any understanding of those astronomical sums. Neither did we at Bayern. By the way, which is why we have stayed away from it all as far as possible.”

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