Tickets for at least three Fortuna Düsseldorf (German 2nd division) matches in the 2023/24 season will be free, the club announced on Wednesday, a pilot phase of the “Fortuna for all” project which should eventually lead to total free admission. . “We open football for everyone. We will allow free entry to Fortuna Düsseldorf’s league matches in our stadium in the future. It will start with a pilot phase for the coming season with at least three matches,” explained Alexander Jobst, chairman of the board of Fortuna Düsseldorf, during a press conference.
“Free entry concerns organized groups of supporters, subscribers, regular visitors to the stadium, and also supporters of the visiting team,” said Alexander Jobst. The “Fortuna for all” project eventually provides for free access to all meetings of the Düsseldorf club, in a stadium which can hold up to 54,600 people, and which will be one of the venues for Euro-2024 (three matches of the group stage, a round of 16, a quarter-final).
According to the German daily Bild, for a normal season in the 2nd division, Fortuna’s revenue generated for ticketing is between 7 and 8 million euros. “From when will we be able to offer free access for the 17 games of a season at home, it will depend on the evolution of things. We have laid the foundations, ”explained the club’s financial director, Arnd Hovemann.
According to Alexander Jobst, three companies as well as the “Common goal” initiative launched more than five years ago by former international Juan Mata, are participating financially in the Fortuna Düsseldorf project, thus providing “an economic base” of 45 million euros. euros for the next five years. The association of supporters “Unsere Kurve” welcomed the project. “We have been of the opinion for years that football should belong to everyone. This also applies to ticket prices. For the moment, the idea of Fortuna is to be welcomed”, reacted Thomas Kessen, spokesman for the association with the SID agency, a subsidiary of AFP.
But he also warned about the possible “influence” that these sponsors could obtain on the club via this commitment. On average this season in the 2nd division, Fortuna Düsseldorf welcomes 29,000 spectators, with up to 52,200 supporters for the match against Hamburg on March 31. The club have almost lost all hope of a comeback in the Bundesliga next season.