TSG back on track financially

“Challenging in sporting terms – but economically consolidated” is how the new TSG chief financial director, Jens Lehmann, sums up a season that was characterised above all by a brief decline in fortunes on the pitch. TSG were near the top of the table until Matchday 11, then they slipped into a relegation battle before a brilliant closing run saw them finish the season in 12th place. The fans, who supported the club impressively and in large numbers in the big games, played a key role in achieving survival. “It was a blessing that there were no longer any admission restrictions in place during the season,” says managing director Denni Strich, but “the income from match operations has unfortunately not yet returned to pre-Covid levels”.

But it wasn’t just the fans who remained loyal to the club in difficult times. “Our partners and sponsors have supported us through the pandemic and the challenging economic years that followed,” recalls Strich, who can even report “an increase in revenue” for the 2022-23 financial year. Media revenue has also increased slightly, based on the German Football League’s “staircase model”, according to which the leagues’ total revenue will grow between 2021 and 2025. The transfer markets also regained momentum in the reporting period. For TSG Hoffenheim, who rely heavily on player sales, a large part of the increase in revenue is due to the transfers of David Raum to RB Leipzig and Georginio Rutter to Leeds United.

“In the current financial year, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Fußball-Spielbetriebs GmbH is facing the challenges that a small medium-sized organisation that plays in the big league usually faces,” says chief financial officer Lehmann, looking ahead to the coming months. However, the sale of Christoph Baumgartner to Leipzig means that a big step has already been taken. “Sporting success and further transfer income will have a positive impact on the consolidation of TSG,” predicts Lehmann.