Dynamo Dresden Just Scored an Own Goal

Dynamo Dresden has become the first professional club in Germany to explicitly restrict influencers, vloggers, streamers and other content creators from commercially filming inside its Rudolf Harbig Stadion without prior permission.

In mid-August 2026, the club amended its stadium regulations, introducing a rule that prohibits filming intended for commercial use or monetisation unless it has been approved by the club. The new provision applies to creators producing content for platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, as well as those bringing professional equipment specifically designed for content production.

Private photographs and short videos taken as personal memories remain perfectly welcome. But there is now a clear distinction between capturing a memory and building a business around it. Anyone caught filming with the intention of commercialising the material without permission can be removed from the stadium.

Dynamo Dresden says the decision is primarily about protecting its media and broadcasting rights. The club also argues that it should not be left watching others turn the atmosphere it creates into views, followers and revenue while receiving nothing in return.

But there is another reason, perhaps a more emotional one.

The club says many supporters, particularly those in the ultras sections, have grown tired of cameras constantly hovering around the stands. In the K-Block and other areas, fans are encouraged to use phones and cameras responsibly and with consideration for those around them.

The message is simple: come to the stadium to watch the football, not to turn the stadium into your studio.

The new rules were introduced in cooperation with fan representatives and ultras, making the decision as much about protecting the culture of the terraces as protecting commercial rights.

And that is what makes the move interesting. As stadium vlogging continues to grow, Dynamo Dresden is drawing a line between being a fan and being a content creator. A photograph of the moment is still yours to keep. A short video for your personal memories is still fine. But when the stadium becomes more than a place to watch football, when it becomes a backdrop for commercial content, the club wants a say in what happens behind the camera.

Our own, admittedly humble, opinion is that this decision feels more populist than necessary. This reaction is driven more by hysteria than by any real threat.

We do not know how many content creators, vloggers, streamers or football influencers have actually attended Dynamo Dresden’s home matches, nor how much commercial value their content generated. But one thing is certain: they were helping put the club, the league and German football in front of more eyes. By closing that door, Dynamo Dresden may well be closing off part of its own reach.

The club’s argument about protecting broadcasting rights also feels somewhat hollow. Broadcasters already have sophisticated automated systems in place across social media platforms to detect and remove footage that infringes their copyright. And, to put it somewhat bluntly, if a vlogger includes a minute and a half of match footage in a video published twenty days after the game, it hardly threatens the official highlights or the league’s own media product. Quite the opposite: it can serve as another doorway into the game, an extra layer of storytelling that brings more eyes, curiosity and ultimately more people to the club and the league.

As for the argument that ultras do not want cameras around them, that problem seems considerably easier to solve. If filming is unwelcome in a particular ultras stand, simply prohibit phones and cameras there. Many ultra groups and stands across Europe already operate under similar rules. Anyway, vloggers and influencers usually dont go to real ultras stand.

Football has always lived through stories. Once, they were passed from one supporter to another on the stands. Then came radio, television, fanzines and, eventually, social media. Vloggers and creators are simply another generation of storytellers: sometimes annoying, sometimes superficial, but often capable of bringing the game to people who might otherwise never find it.

Perhaps the irony is that, in trying to protect the culture around the stadium, Dynamo Dresden risks making its world a little smaller. In our humble view, the club may have just scored an own goal with this decision.