DEB VP Calls Financial Situation 'Alarming,' Wants To Include Pro Clubs In Reorganization

German Hockey Federation (DEB) VP Daniel Hopp "wants to include the clubs of the German Hockey League (DEL) and DEL2 in the battle to reorganize the crisis-hit federation," according to the SID. The 34-year-old, who is also a shareholder of DEL side Adler Mannheim, said that the clubs "should be included into the federation as paying and voting-eligible members." Hopp: "We promise maximum transparency." He also called the DEB's financial situation "alarming." Hopp: "We've discovered a situation whose scope surprised us." The DEB's structural deficit stands currently at €500,000 ($624,000) annually. Without "changes and sustainable economics the federation will be bankrupt by '18." The federation calculates with losses of €306,400 ($382,000) in '15 and €682,400 ($851,000) in '16. The 2017 IIHF World Championship, which will be co-hosted by Germany and France, will generate an estimated €1.44M ($1.8M) for the DEB (SID, 11/12).