In an interview with sv98.de, President Rüdiger Fritsch comments on the current overall situation, the upcoming crucial weeks and the search for a sporting director.
sv98.de: Rüdiger, 26 match days have been played in the 1st Bundesliga so far. It is the expected difficult season. How do you classify the overall situation?
Rüdiger Fritsch: With a huge effort, we all achieved promotion to the Bundesliga together. Our SV Darmstadt 98 were in a battle with a lot of very big clubs but we achieved this just in time for our 125th birthday. This is outstanding and the result of the solidarity and cooperation of so many people in and around the club. Anyone who has followed our journey together over the last few years will see what we have achieved together, regardless of individual game results. We have now established ourselves in professional football, are financially stable at our level and are pleased about the positive external perception.
And as far as the “difficult season” is concerned, that has unfortunately proven to be more true than we perhaps admitted at the beginning. However, when viewed in light, nothing has happened so far that was not previously imaginable. And importantly: we always have to keep our heads up!
sv98.de: You mentioned that there are still eight games to play after the international break, and we are currently six points behind the relegation place. How do you look forward to the rest of the season?
Fritsch: First of all, we have to self-critically state that this season, as in previous years, we have not yet managed to make the most of our limited economic possibilities. But now the crucial weeks are coming up with games against the teams from the lower table region. Let’s combine all our strengths together once again – with a good mix of full concentration and „Druff Kapell“ attitude. Nobody should write us off too soon.
sv98.de: “Joining forces” also means including all fan groups, right?
Fritsch: That’s exactly how it is. It’s not an easy season for all fans of the Lilies, losing too often is just no fun. But what happened in the stadium on Saturday against Bayern was the Bölle as it lives and breathes and as we all love it so, so much. The processing of the incidents from the Augsburg game definitely does not take place in every club with this openness and clarity. A lot went wrong on the day of the game against Augsburg, but I am grateful for the process of coming to terms with it and the way of self-reflection. The logical and good insight is that “We Lilies” are actually “All of us”.
sv98.de: What is the status of filling the position of sporting director?
Fritsch: We are proceeding with this new appointment in a structured manner and with a clear concept. The position is definitely important, but we won’t allow ourselves to be pushed into making quick decisions. We are not looking for the first, but rather the best for the lilies in our opinion and it is by no means the case that we are currently unable to act. The scouting department is still there, the “engine room” is functioning. This was also shown by the past winter transfer period with three new additions. We need a specialist who can use his expertise and good network to guide our squad composition and, as a result, raise the squad to an even better level. And that while recognising our framework conditions. To put it bluntly: this expert doesn’t grow on the trees of the Darmstadt city forest. However, we are confident that we will be able to report enforcement in a timely manner.
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.
SV Darmstadt 98 successfully completed their second pre-season friendly, defeating Verbandsliga side VfR Fehlheim 8-0 (4-0).
