German football security and policing reforms

Authorities and football associations in Germany are implementing new strategies to manage the security and financial burdens of professional football matches.

In Dortmund and the wider North Rhine-Westphalia region, police have shifted their security strategy to place more responsibility on football clubs. Police President Tim Frommeyer stated that officers will no longer maintain a constant presence in stadium areas or accompany fan marches, intervening only in exceptional circumstances to prevent threats to life or respond to immediate crimes. This change follows an agreement to address a workload that officials described as unsustainable.

Concurrently, the German Football Association (DFB) has resolved that it will not bear the costs of additional police deployments for high-risk matches, intending to pass these fees to home clubs if demanded by authorities. This follows legal precedents allowing such charges and pressure from the State Audit Office in North Rhine-Westphalia, which argued that taxpayers should not fund the security costs of profit-oriented football matches. While the DFB maintains opposition to the fee model, the shift toward club-led security and cost-sharing continues to develop.