VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday confirmed they are shelving plans for a state-of-the-art youth training facility as main sponsors Volkswagen remain embroiled in a pollution-cheating scandal.
The German Cup holders are deferring plans to start work in 2017 on an academy training centre, reported to have been set to cost between 30 and 40 million euros (US$45.5m).
“I think it is understandable in the current situation, that projects of this magnitude are deferred,” Wolfsburg’s director of sport Klaus Allofs said in a statement.
Wolfsburg, who are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2009, are sponsored to the tune of approximately 100 million euros per season by the German car giants.
On Tuesday, Volkswagen announced it plans to slash one billion euros off its annual investment budget and push ahead with its drive to develop electric cars in the wake of the diesel pollution scandal.
VW’s new chief executive Matthias Mueller has said all of the company’s investments will be re-appraised in the wake of the global scandal and this is the first sign of the football club tightening it’s belt.
The Bundesliga side appears to have already started looking for fresh sponsorship with German magazine Kicker reporting they are close to a deal worth 80 million euros with Nike.
The US sportswear giant is set to sign a ten-year deal to pay eight million euros per season as Wolfsburg’s official kit supplier.
Wolfsburg, who are winless in their last four games, are ninth in the German league table and host strugglers Hoffenheim on Saturday. – Agence France-Presse
