Bundesliga side Schalke Marketing Dir Alexander Jobst said that newly established Bundesliga clubs like Ingolstadt and Hoffenheim "are a threat" to the league's plans for int'l growth, and "warned against the fall of the 50+1 rule," according to Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN.com. Jobst said, "It would be beneficial for the league's positioning abroad if clubs like VfB Stuttgart and Hannover 96 were to return to the top flight next season." In recent years, clubs including Hoffenheim, Ingolstadt and RB Leipzig have "arrived in the German top flight and taken the place of some of the Bundesliga's established clubs." Their success has "not been widely celebrated," particularly as Hoffenheim is exempt from the 50+1 rule. Jobst said that the end of the rule "could ultimately prove a significant blow" in the league's fight to capitalize on worldwide markets. He said, "If you were to drop the 50+1 rule, there will be many more 'not traditional' clubs who would have sporting success fairly soon, but does that serve the product Bundesliga in an international context? My answer is 'No'" (ESPN.com, 3/9).
