Bayern Munich (and fans) donate €460,000 to lower division clubs in Bavaria

When the announcement was made that the Bundesliga would return from the COVID-19 suspension with games without fans in attendance, Bayern Munich gave their fans two options. The first was that they could receive full refunds for any tickets purchased for games in which they wouldn’t be able to attend. The second was to forgo a refund and have all of the funds that they would’ve received donated to Bayern’s charity arm FC Bayern Hilfe eV.

Today, FC Bayern announced a donation of €460,000 to clubs in the Regionalliga Bayern and the Bavarian State Sports Association (BLSV). All 18 clubs in the Regionalliga Bayern this season will receive €20,000 (Yes, this includes the reserve sides of Augsburg, Greuther Fürth, and Nürnberg.), and the BLSV will receive €100,000.

“I would like to say a big thank you to the fans who made this possible,” Karl Hopfner said. “With this campaign we want to support the clubs in the Bayern Regionalliga during the coronavirus crisis. The Bavarian State Sports Association makes an enormous contribution to society, and we want to help here as well.”

As the largest member of the BLSV, Bayern surely feels some responsibility to help the smaller clubs in the state during this time, and until this season, Bayern II were playing their matches in the Regionalliga as well.

“I think it is important that FC Bayern, who can of course act from a position of strength, show solidarity in so many different ways,” Uli Hoeneß said. “We are very happy about the donations from our fans. I want more cohesion than ever for sport. Now is not the time to think of oneself. We need optimism and solidarity in our society.”