German 3rd League Club VfL Osnabrück Needs Help From City To Stay Afloat

Despite its on-field success, German 3rd League football team VfL Osnabrück "is in deep financial trouble," according to NWZ ONLINE. The team recently presented its financial numbers of the '11-12 fiscal year in which it generated another loss of €926,000 ($1.2M). Should the intended outsourcing of the club's professional first team fail, the club "would most-likely have to cease operations." Only if the city helps the cash-strapped club, which has a debt of about €9M ($11.5M), "an insolvency could be avoided." City politicians demand that the club "passes a resolution at its member meeting on Dec. 9 that would outsource its professional first team." Only then, the city would pay around €7.6M ($9.7M) for the club's stadium and lease it to the club. To pass such a resolution the club "needs a three-quarter majority of votes, which is all but certain" (NWZ ONLINE, 11/20).