Berlin’s Olympic Stadium will remain the regular venue for the DFB-Pokal final despite suggestions the match could be moved abroad, the German Football Federation (DFB) has announced.
Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted said in a newspaper interview that the showpiece should be taken to cities such as Shanghai in China to maximise money and capitalise on growing Asian interest in the Bundesliga.
Rorsted told Suddeutsche Zeitung: “Why not play a future cup final in Shanghai rather than Berlin? I see it as a chance and would be all for it.”
But DFB president Reinhard Grindel said that option is not being considered and Berlin is set to continue as the home of the cup final, with the Olympiastadion having held the match since 1985.
“Holding the DFB-Pokal final at a fixed venue, namely in Berlin, is a fantastic success story,” Grindel posted on Facebook.
“Whether for players or spectators, interest in the DFB-Pokal reaches its peak every year in Berlin. The DFB-Pokal final is here to celebrate the holiday of football. For more than 30 years and hopefully for as long as possible.
“It has become a brand in itself. Berlin’s Olympic Stadium has become a German version of Wembley – a living legend.”
Borussia Monchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt will contest the first of this season’s DFB-Pokal semi-finals on April 25, before holders Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund in a Klassiker clash the following day.
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