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League President Dr. Reinhard Rauball demands more equal opportunities in professional football.

The League Association and the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH intensify their political activities on European level: Dr. Reinhard Rauball, President of the League Association, and Christian Seifert, Chief Executive Officer of the DFL, have explained and discussed the league's position with a group of German Members of the European Parliament as well as representatives of the Federal Government, the Federal States, the European Commission and sponsors when they shared lunch in Brussels today. Before that a bilateral conversation with Manolis Mavrommatis, the European Parliament's correspondent for the "white book sports", took place additionally.

"The league especially puts itself out for a legal framework that brings equal opportunities in Europe forward. In the sense of sport we need framework conditions that guarantee a fair and exciting competition. Therefore a further harmonisation of the framework conditions on a European level is needed", Dr. Reinhard Rauball says. "It is vital that we represent the position of League Association and DFL even more on a European level." Rauball had already announced to place special emphasis here when he was voted League President.

"We held very constructive talks with the Members of the European Parliament. Stable framework conditions, certainty of the law and therewith a higher degree of predictability are important conditions for the successful further development of professional football in Germany and Europe. The professional football is an economic factor of great importance, as employer and tax payer, and additionally holds an important social funktion", Christian Seifert outlines.

The European law for concerns of sport had been characterised by the practise of individual case rulings. This is coupled with considerable legal uncertainties for athletic unions, league organisations and clubs. As important landmark in the process of an intended standardisation the European Commission presented the "white book sports" in July 2007, and further decisions and a so called follow-up process are to follow.

For the league the regular contact with European politics increasingly gains in importance. On basis of the legally guaranteed autonomy of unions the sport has always laid down its own rules, both in view of the competitions and of economic procedures. But the past has showed that the statutes of unions and leagues can increasingly come into conflict with European law. Keywords are the Bosman ruling, the marketing of media rights and the transfer regulations.