What the rule actually requires
Under Deutsche Fussball Liga regulations, a club cannot hold a license to play in the Bundesliga or the second division unless its members, organized as a registered association, retain more than 50 percent of the voting rights in the professional football entity. An outside investor can buy a large minority stake and inject serious money, but cannot secure control. Until 1998, private ownership of any kind was banned outright in German professional football, and 50+1 was the compromise that allowed capital in without handing over the boardroom.
The practical effect is that a club cannot be run purely to maximize short-term return for a distant owner, because the people voting on major decisions are, structurally, the fan base itself.
