How Bayern Munich Grew into the Super Club of German Football

Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayern Munich v SC Paderborn - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - February 21, 2020 Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scores their second goal REUTERS/Michael Dalder
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayern Munich v SC Paderborn - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - February 21, 2020 Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scores their second goal REUTERS/Michael Dalder
TT

How Bayern Munich Grew into the Super Club of German Football

Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayern Munich v SC Paderborn - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - February 21, 2020 Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scores their second goal REUTERS/Michael Dalder
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayern Munich v SC Paderborn - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - February 21, 2020 Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scores their second goal REUTERS/Michael Dalder

Bayern Munich can complete only the second treble in their proud history by beating Paris Saint Germain in Sunday's Champions League final to underline their status as Germany's super club.

Bayern have cruised to the Lisbon final, scoring 42 goals in their Champions League matches.

In all competitions, they are on a 20-game winning streak stretching back to early February.

"FC Bayern is a global football club that has an obligation to play at the top internationally. That is our focus," said Bayern board member Oliver Kahn.

Since the turn of the century, Bayern have made the knock-out stages of the Champions League 19 times, reaching five finals and winning two of them, in 2001 and 2013.

In that time, they have won the Bundesliga 15 times.

Bayern last failed to win the German league in 2011/12, when Jurgen Klopp led Dortmund to the second of back-to-back titles.

They responded in 2012/13 with the first treble in club history - Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League titles - which they can repeat Sunday.

Such is their grip on German football that Dortmund, Bundesliga runners-up for the last two seasons, have given up promising to end Bayern's domination.

"We don't have to say anything more about Bayern Munich, because their opponents will no longer be beaten but destroyed," grumbled Dortmund chief execurive Hans-Joachim Watzke in the wake of the 8-2 quarter-final drubbing of Barcelona.

Bayern are Germany's richest club, with a turnover for 2018/9 of 750.4 million euros ($883 million) and an operating profit of 146.1 million euros.

The 2020 Deloitte Football Money League estimates that Bayern are the fourth richest club in Europe, behind Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United, AFP reported.

Building revenue has been a central element of club strategy under former president Uli Hoeness and current chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Hoeness, a former Bayern and Germany striker, was at the helm for 40 years, interrupted by a brief stint in jail after being convicted of tax fraud in 2013.

He resisted selling stakes in the club to outside investors.

Main sponsors Audi, Adidas and Allianz, all companies with their headquarters in Bavaria, hold 8.33 percent each. The remaining 75 percent is owned by club supporters.

Through a transfer policy of cherry-picking - sometimes ruthlessly - from other German clubs and adding affordable foreign imports, Bayern have dominated the Bundesliga since the 1970s.

After Dortmund routed Bayern 5-2 in the 2012 German Cup final, the losers took note.

Bayern bought Dortmund's rising star Mario Goetze in 2013.

They then added the striker who scored a hat-trick in the final Robert Lewandowski in 2014 and centre back Mats Hummels in 2016, as their Dortmund contracts expired.

They have already signed rising Germany stars goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel, on a free transfer, from Schalke and Leroy Sane from Manchester City for next season.

Bayern players are expected to show the same self-confidence exuded in the club's Bavarian motto 'Mia San Mia', meaning "We are who we are".

Head coach Hansi Flick, another former Bayern player, replaced Niko Kovac in November and has brought order and clarity.

"What sets him apart is his calm, level-headedness and his work with the coaching team," AFP quoted Bayern captain Manuel Neuer as saying.

"He showed that not only in the Bundesliga and the Cup, but also in the Champions League."

Even when the personnel change, Bayern roll on.

Rummenigge is grooming former club captain and Germany goalkeeper Kahn as his replacement.

Former Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer has replaced Hoeness as club president.

Hoeness may be gone but his presence will still be felt for years to come.

"I would be stupid if I didn't get his advice from time to time," said Hainer.



Mexico City Suspends Classes, Shifts to Remote Work for World Cup Kickoff

 Souvenirs shaped like the FIFA World Cup trophy are displayed for sale on a street in Mexico City on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Souvenirs shaped like the FIFA World Cup trophy are displayed for sale on a street in Mexico City on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
TT

Mexico City Suspends Classes, Shifts to Remote Work for World Cup Kickoff

 Souvenirs shaped like the FIFA World Cup trophy are displayed for sale on a street in Mexico City on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Souvenirs shaped like the FIFA World Cup trophy are displayed for sale on a street in Mexico City on June 8, 2026. (AFP)

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday issued a decree ordering federal workers in the capital to work from home on June 11 and suspending school classes to ease traffic ‌during FIFA World ‌Cup opening ‌events.

The decree aims ⁠to improve urban mobility and road safety as Mexico City hosts the World Cup opening match and accompanying ⁠events on June 11.

The ‌opening events are expected ‌to draw significant numbers of ‌visitors.

Federal agencies must implement remote work schemes for Mexico City-based staff, with ‌exceptions for essential services including healthcare, security, critical ⁠infrastructure ⁠and World Cup operations.

Schools from preschool through university, both public and private, will close for the day under the decree.

The government also urged private companies to adopt similar remote work arrangements.


Iran Football Body Claims Fans’ Tickets for World Cup Games in the US Have Been Revoked

 Reza Mansoori (R) and Mostafa Pourmanda, Iranian supporters living in San Diego and staying at the same hotel as Iran's national football team, cheer for their team in Tijuana, Mexico, on June 8, 2026, ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup football tournament. (AFP)
Reza Mansoori (R) and Mostafa Pourmanda, Iranian supporters living in San Diego and staying at the same hotel as Iran's national football team, cheer for their team in Tijuana, Mexico, on June 8, 2026, ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup football tournament. (AFP)
TT

Iran Football Body Claims Fans’ Tickets for World Cup Games in the US Have Been Revoked

 Reza Mansoori (R) and Mostafa Pourmanda, Iranian supporters living in San Diego and staying at the same hotel as Iran's national football team, cheer for their team in Tijuana, Mexico, on June 8, 2026, ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup football tournament. (AFP)
Reza Mansoori (R) and Mostafa Pourmanda, Iranian supporters living in San Diego and staying at the same hotel as Iran's national football team, cheer for their team in Tijuana, Mexico, on June 8, 2026, ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup football tournament. (AFP)

FIFA has revoked the ticket allocation for Iran fans at the team’s three World Cup games in the United States, the national soccer federation claimed Tuesday.

Each federation for the 48 teams taking part is entitled to receive and distribute 8% of stadium capacity at the World Cup, adding up to several thousands of tickets for each game.

Just days before Iran opens its World Cup — on June 15 at the Los Angeles Rams’ stadium in Inglewood against New Zealand — the federation claimed in a statement reported by semi-official state media that it was now unable to provide any tickets to its supporters.

FIFA was approached for comment.

The claim adds to the turmoil between Iranian soccer, FIFA and tournament co-host the US, which began military attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

Iran’s team is now based in the Mexican border city of Tijuana instead of its pre-war plan to train in Tucson, Arizona.

Some federation officials also have been denied visas to enter the US, where Iran also plays Belgium in Inglewood on June 21 and then Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Federations of World Cup teams typically sell their ticket allocation to the most loyal fans who attend games at home and away.

Iran residents were subject to a travel ban by the US government since last year and were unlikely to get entry visas for the World Cup. It was unclear how many tickets in Iran’s allocation were sold since the tournament draw was made in December to the country's diaspora including in the US.

Still, FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated in 2017 — when US football officials were preparing a co-hosting bid with Canada and Mexico they won the following year — that fans must have access to the tournament.

“It’s obvious when it comes to FIFA competitions as well (that) any team, including the supporters and the officials of that team, who would qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup,” Infantino said nine years ago. “That is obvious.”

A FIFA-appointed match referee from Somalia was denied entry to the US in Miami at the weekend and on Monday he was ruled out of taking part in the 104-game tournament that starts on Thursday.


World Cup Nears Kickoff after Pre-tournament Turbulence

The World Cup will kick off in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Carl DE SOUZA / AFP
The World Cup will kick off in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Carl DE SOUZA / AFP
TT

World Cup Nears Kickoff after Pre-tournament Turbulence

The World Cup will kick off in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Carl DE SOUZA / AFP
The World Cup will kick off in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Carl DE SOUZA / AFP

The World Cup kicks off on Thursday with FIFA betting that the enduring appeal of the greatest footballing show on earth can rise above anger at soaring ticket prices, an uneasy political climate in Donald Trump's America and the shadow of conflict in the Middle East.

A record 48 teams and millions of fans are set to descend on the United States, Canada and Mexico for the first ever World Cup co-hosted by three nations, the largest and most logistically complex edition of the tournament ever staged.

The action gets under way at Mexico City's iconic Estadio Azteca on Thursday, with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa at 3:00 pm local time (1900 GMT), launching a sprawling, nearly six-week-long spectacle that will culminate in the final at New Jersey's 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium on July 19.

Can Lionel Messi, at the age of 38, settle any lingering debate about his status as the greatest player of all time by leading Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup title?

Or can Messi's great rival, the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, defy father time by inspiring a talented Portugal team to its maiden World Cup win?

Or will England, led by Harry Kane, finally end the country's 60-year wait for a second major international championship following their lone 1966 World Cup victory?

Those questions and more will be answered over the course of a tournament that Gianni Infantino, the president of world football's governing FIFA, has bullishly hyped as "the greatest show that the planet has ever seen."

- Ticket fury -

Yet Infantino's breezy optimism has run into hurricane-force headwinds of skepticism during a build-up dogged by concerns over affordability, politics and conflict.

The skyrocketing cost of tickets to the tournament has triggered a global backlash which has left FIFA and Infantino struggling to mount a convincing public relations defense.

The most expensive ticket for the 2022 World Cup final cost around $1,600 at face value; in 2026 the most expensive face value ticket being sold by FIFA is an eye-watering $32,970.

That kind of inflation has been prevalent across the tournament's 104 matches, where seats for many games remain available on secondary re-sale markets despite huge demand.

Even Infantino's staunch ally, Donald Trump, has balked at the cost, reacting with surprise when told of the $1,000 price tag for tickets to the USA's opening game with Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday -- the first game on US soil.

"I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you," the US president told the New York Post.

While fans absorb the expense of travel to the tournament, other critics have questioned whether the World Cup party will be soured by the political climate in the United States.

Human Rights Watch says Trump's crackdowns on immigration, demonstrations and press freedom could lead to a World Cup defined by "exclusion and fear."

Those fears were fueled Monday when FIFA dropped a Somali referee from the World Cup after he was denied entry to the United States.

Omar Artan was set to be the first match official from Somalia to referee at a global finals, but he was turned back when he arrived at Miami International Airport on Saturday.

FIFA said it was powerless to influence the decision and announced it had omitted Artan from its 52-strong referees roster.

The US-Israel military strikes launched against Iran in February have also loomed large over the tournament, where Iran are due to play three group games in the United States, starting with their opener against New Zealand on June 15.

Trump initially suggested Iran should withdraw from the tournament for their own "life and safety" before walking back his rhetoric.

Iran meanwhile have switched their base camp from Tucson, Arizona to the Mexican city of Tijuana, where they touched down early Sunday.

While Iran's players are free to travel in and out of the United States, some 15 administrative and management staff have been denied visas by US authorities in a move Iranian authorities have condemned as "deliberate and discriminatory treatment."

- Expanded field -

On the field, the decision to expand the tournament to 48 teams -- up from 32 in 2022 -- is likely to strip the group stage of any sense of jeopardy.

A total of 72 first-round matches will be needed to eliminate just 12 teams, with 32 advancing to the knockout rounds -- the top two finishers in each of the 12 first ground groups along with the eight best third-place finishers.

The tournament will see a range of other innovations.

For the first time in World Cup history, every game will feature cooling breaks in the middle of each half, a measure designed to mitigate the effects of searing heat and humidity expected at many of the tournament's 16 venues.

Players and referees will need to adjust to several new rules being rolled out at the World Cup, including teams being required to make substitutions inside 10 seconds to prevent time-wasting.

A crackdown on racist abuse will see players risk a red card for covering their mouth with a hand, arm or shirt during a confrontation with an opponent.

Next month's final, meanwhile, could well be the longest on record due to the decision to stage a Super Bowl-style halftime show, headlined by Madonna, Shakira and BTS.

The show means the half-time interval will be stretched from the traditional 15 minutes to around 25 minutes.