More than nominally “left-wing” fans, supporters of BSG Chemie Leipzig proactively fight rising commercialism in Football by voluntarily undertaking a lot of basic jobs around the club. This relieves the club of some overhead costs, and as a consequence, the club is in less need to sell advertising space to diversify its revenue streams. Fan integration is a key part of Chemie Leipzig, and the close relationship between management and supporters should be thought-provoking and inspirational to anyone concerned about fan welfare being compromised by business interests in Football.
rb leipzig
A Better Taste of Leipzig

In a mere decade, Red Bull GmbH has put Saxony’s second city firmly on the Football map. But if the notion of checking out an RB Leipzig match leaves a bad taste in your mouth, don’t panic. Leipzig’s Football scene is both peculiar and fascinating, and two clubs stand out as being colourful, idiosyncratic and Continue reading
Ultras Aufkleber of the Week – RB Leipzig
Okay we’ll come clean. This Aufkleber is not from RB Leipzig, but from some other unknown Ultra group (obviously German) demonstrating against the team’s business model and success. This attitude is common across the Bundesliga, and in our post ‘Why Do Germans Hate RB Leipzig So Much?‘ we explore a cultural explanation why.
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Why do Germans Hate RB Leipzig so much?

You know the story. One of East Germany’s biggest “start-ups” now looks a challenger for the Bundesliga title, at time of writing. The story has drawn a different kind of foreign attention to the Bundesliga. Outsiders frequently acknowledge the excellency of the German Football experience, but now they are hearing more about the stark mainstream rejection of this story on behalf of fans. Why do Germans hate RB Leipzig so much? German society and culture play a big part. Continue reading
East German Footballing Stagnation

Football is an exceptionally good lens to look through to understand people and places. The graphic below shows the distribution of 1st and 2nd Bundesliga teams in the 2015/16 season. One thing stands out bold as brass: East Germany is desperately lacking. You see Continue reading