Schalke president proposes Bundesliga playoff system

Schalke president Axel Höfer has said the Bundesliga needs reforms.

He said the league needed more creative decisions to narrow the gap with the English Premier League. In Höfer’s view, the competition, particularly the title race, does not offer enough suspense.

The club executive proposed introducing a playoff stage to reduce the likelihood of the champion being decided in advance. Under his model, the strongest clubs based on their league-season results would continue to qualify for the Champions League. The champion, however, would be decided in a final playoff stage.

Höfer noted that Bayern Munich does not win the German Cup every time and said playoff matches for the title would also attract interest in foreign markets.

The Schalke president stressed the importance of creating a strong and attractive Bundesliga. He said action needed to be taken now to ensure that, 20 years from now, the battle for Germany’s main titles would not shift to other countries. Bild reported the comments.