Introduction

The idea of people collecting resources for a common goal is as old as humanity itself and at the heart of all communities (Beck et al., 2016). Although it is not a new concept at all, crowdfunding has become especially popular in the last decade. Since the launch of the platform Kickstarter in 2009 and its global expansion, crowdfunding is often considered to be the “new” financing tool which enhances innovation and facilitates funding (Kuppuswamy & Bayus, 2018). This chapter provides the introduction to this DBA thesis about crowdfunding in German professional football. The study will analyse whether crowdfunding could be a valuable alternative in football finance and why supporters may be willing to participate in a fan-financing campaign.