Just months after Bayern Munich were openly mocked by 1860 Munich fans at their celebrations, 1860 face a much more humiliating scenario. While far less successful in recent years, 1860 boast a respectable fanbase (in terms of numbers), and have been a major historic club in German football over their long history. However, a major revelation has been made.
According to Bild, Bayern Munich’s local rivals have been relegated to the Regionalliga after being denied the licence to play in the 3. Liga for failing to provide the necessary 2.7 million Euros. It’s unclear whether club shareholder Hasan Ismaik will provide the necessary funds for the Regionalliga (around €1 million). If they fail to provide those funds, the club is threatened with insolvency.
A crazy turn of events after a respective 8th place finish in the 3. Liga, the Munich club is now facing an extinction-level event. You never really know what is going on behind these clubs, as a successful season and great attendance numbers have possibly still resulted in hard financial times or simply massive mismanagement.
It was looking possible for 1860 to actually gain promotion to the 2. Liga just a matter of months ago, and now their fans will be facing a real worst-case scenario. No matter your feelings towards Munich’s rivals, this insolvency would be a bad thing for fans, the league, and football as a whole.
1860 Munich have spent virtually their entire recent history in the top flight of German football and only started their downward trajectory in 2004 when they were relegated to the 2. Liga. While it can be fun to poke fun at local rivals, if 1860 are indeed extinct in the coming years, Bayern will fail to have any real local rivalry, outside of a mediocre rivalry towards FC Augsburg.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
