DUSSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) – Second division club Fortuna Dusseldorf will be offering free tickets to all fans in some matches next season as part of a new strategy of anchoring the club tighter to the city and fans as the industry changes, they said on Wednesday.
Fortuna officials said free tickets to all fans, registering on a platform to be part of the ticket draw, would be offered for at least three league home games next season and the cost would be covered by sponsors.
“We open up football for all. We will have free entry for league games in this stadium,” Alexander Jobst, club CEO, told a news conference. “We call it ‘Fortuna for all’ which can and will lead us to a successful future.”
He said a pilot phase with at least three home games next season would be expanded to more matches and eventually to all home games.
“Fortuna remains a club and this club belongs to friends and members,” he said. “We have the responsibility to set the foundations for a successful future. That was our compass.”
Fortuna have average home attendances of almost 30,000 in the second division this season. Germany’s top Bundesliga is the world’s best attended soccer league with more than 42,000 fans on average per match.
“It is a unique concept for football and I am confident it will take Fortuna forward,” said Dusseldorf mayor Stephan Keller. “You can feel that something new starts today… that could ignite a potential revolution in football.”
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
