Future hybrid meetings at BVB
Borussia Dortmund will hold its general meetings in a hybrid format in the future. This should increase Hans-Joachim Watzke's chances of becoming president.
"The board decided today to hold the 2025 general meeting in a hybrid format. I expressly supported this step towards greater member participation," wrote current president Reinhold Lunow on Friday evening (03.07.2025) at X.
In the same tweet, Lunow wrote that he would have "liked to gather the opinions of our members through a digital survey" before taking this step. "Unfortunately, this proposal did not find a majority on the board."
In addition to Lunow, the board of BVB eV includes Silke Seidel as vice president and Bernd Möllmann as treasurer.
Disturbed relationship between bosses of club and KGaAThe "Rheinmetall discussion" mentioned in the tweet is one of the reasons why the relationship between Lunow and Hans-Joachim Watzke, managing director of the spun-off and listed Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA, cooled to freezing point.
The sponsorship deal with the defense company, which, according to Sportschau, is worth more than 20 million euros over a three-year term, was controversially discussed within the club and among fans. At the 2024 general meeting, the majority of voters disapproved, and Watzke defended it.
The heated discussions on and behind the scenes are said to have prompted Lunow to run again, contrary to initial considerations and agreements with Watzke. The 71-year-old physician officially announced this at the beginning of June this year.
This marked the beginning of an election campaign, although Watzke is still keeping his candidacy open. Officially, only, he will retire as managing director of the KGaA "in the fall" of 2025.
Theoretically, more than 200,000 members can now voteThe 2025 general meeting has not yet been scheduled. Since it has always been held on Remembrance Sunday in recent years, it is expected to be held on November 23rd.
Due to Friday's decision, it will be held as a hybrid event for the first time. This means that not only those members who will likely be physically present in one of the Westfalenhallen will be able to participate in the discussions and vote, but also all of the more than 200,000 members will be able to participate digitally.
If Watze were to run, the hybrid voting system would likely benefit him, as he is significantly more well-known than his opponent. Lunow would likely have a better chance if only members present on-site were allowed to vote, as he has the support of many fans who are actively involved in club life and support the club at the stadium. Jakob Scholz, the head of the fan and support department, also comes from this group. He is a member of Team Lunow and would receive a seat on the new board.
Election committee proposesFormally, an election committee must determine which candidates it proposes for election as chairperson of the association. This decision is expected in September.
sportschau
