Fortuna Düsseldorf chief executive Alexander Jobst has claimed that the Bundesliga 2 club’s Fortuna for All project is “breaking new ground”.
The initiative offers free admission to all fans for a handful of the team’s matches at its 54,600-capacity home ground Merkur Spiel-Arena, which was also a Euro 2024 venue.
It has recently finished its second run with four matches against Hamburg, Elversberg, Darmstadt, and Preußen Münster.
“We want to make it clear what Fortuna Düsseldorf stands for,” said Jobst.
“With ‘Fortuna For All’, we’re doing things differently and breaking new ground.”
The programme was launched for the 2023-24 season, with three matches included, and saw more than 120,000 registrations for tickets made for the first fixture.
This was then followed by around 130,000 for the second and more than 90,000 in the first phase for the final match against FC St.Pauli.
Following the initial season of Fortuna for All, the club saw a 28% increase in ticket income, a 19% increase in season ticket sales, and a 20% rise in membership across the whole campaign.
“Just carrying on as normal was not an option for us,” Jobst continued.
“Developments with sharply increased costs and declining TV income confirms this.
“Without ‘Fortuna For All’, we would probably be faced with difficult decisions today.”