Ruhr Valley Derby for German Football Museum

At the end of April a derby between Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund took place as usual, but this time not in a football stadium. The DFB (German Football Confederacy) called a special congress in Duesseldorf to decide on a site for the new museum. Dortmund finally won in a 137 to 102 vote. The 6.000-square metre facility will be opened 2013 across from the train station and is estimated to welcome 250,000 football fans a year. The name and the icon of the museum will be chosen by competition. 30 million euros will be invested in the museum project, 18.5 million by the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and 11.5 million by the DFB. The money of the DFB comes from a fund which the federation set up with profits from its successful participation in organising the 2006 World Cup. Nevertheless, the taxpayers’ league criticizes this kind of financing. As the DFB is said not to pay more than the planned subsidies, the question is who will bear additional costs. (eap)