Im Verein ist es am schönsten

Organised sport in Germany is mostly pursued in clubs. This has led to the question whether corporate enterprises would be superior, in particular for professional sport. In the final analysis this is actually an empirical question but the evidence points more to registered associations than to widely spread corporate enterprises. In sport the competition is too hard and the other conditions are also not amenable for achieving an appropriate profit compared to the risk involved, whereas conversely not much real capital is needed but mostly human capital and talent in sport. The club is one or even the organisational form most suited to sport and has nothing to fear from competition from corporate enterprises, even after the removal of legal restrictions.