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Standings ovations for Lunow and new BVB president Watzke
The lengthy process was primarily due to the hybrid voting procedure, which was used for the first time. This year’s agenda included the election of the entire executive committee of Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund, as well as the cash auditors and the council of elders. Watzke was ultimately elected as the 19th president in the history of BVB with 59% of the votes cast. Daniel Lörcher was elected as deputy president with 71% of the vote. The previous vice-president, Silke Seidel, received 61% of the votes cast in the election for treasurer. In accordance with the statutes, the new executive committee was elected for a three-year term.
Norbert Dickel and Gerd Kolbe were appointed honorary members.The Council of Elders was also up for election. Wolfgang Paul, Fritz Lünschermann, Günter Kutowski, Norbert Dickel, Siegfried Held, Lothar Huber, Dr Gerhard Langemeyer, Theo Redder and – new – Jörg Heinrich and Dr Christian Hockenjos were elected. Marcel Schmelzer and Stefan Schreiber are the cash auditors for the 2025/26 financial year.
The ordinary general meeting, held for the first time as a hybrid meeting, marked the beginning of a new chapter in member participation. 1,951 of the 238,109 club members were present in person, with a further 4,128 participating online. Due to initial problems with the electronic voting procedure, individual items on the agenda were brought forward.
For the 21st and last time, Hans-Joachim Watzke took to the microphone as chairman of the management board and presented the report for the KGaA, which generated consolidated revenue of €526 million in the 2024/25 financial year, with an operating profit of €115.8 million and a pre-tax profit of €10.5 million. “Equity amounts to an impressive €326 million,” said Watzke, who emphasised: “We have not incurred any debt for sporting success in these 20 years. That is extraordinary.”
Regarding the allegations of abuse from the 1990s against a former senior employee of BVB, Watzke addressed those affected and expressed “my and our deepest sympathy for what they have suffered” and promised: “We will support them with all our might.” He continued: “Something like this must never happen again at Borussia Dortmund!” He announced that he would have the matter investigated transparently and would report on the results: “We owe this to the club and especially to those affected.” This topic ran through the entire meeting and was addressed by numerous speakers. The previous president, Dr Reinhold Lunow, emphasised: “If people in the Borussia Dortmund community have suffered, then I would like to apologise on behalf of everyone at Borussia.”
In his review of 20 years in management, Watzke’s words were tinged with melancholy. “We have had some wonderful days together, won five titles and had seven more chances to win further titles. It was always extremely close, we were always extremely close.” At the same time, he recalled the low points: near bankruptcy, the bomb attack on the team bus, Corona— “the hardest time for me. None of us knew what would happen next. We didn’t lay anyone off, we didn’t put anyone on short-time working.”
As president of the registered association, the 66-year-old wants to “maintain dialogue between everyone, listen to everyone” and “be a president for all Borussia fans – together, trusting, future-oriented.” He announced the convening of a “balanced constitutional commission” and “the further professionalisation of the club,” called for “even more women in positions of responsibility” and made a commitment to both competitive and recreational sports departments. In the current political debate about tightening stadium bans, he promised fans: “I will do everything in my power to prevent these things from getting out of hand. The fan department and I are very close in our views on this.” At 15:10, Watzke stepped down from his position as managing director, accompanied by an emotional film clip and an ovation from the assembly.
Shortly before, the previous president, Dr Reinhold Lunow, also received a standing ovation from the 1,951 members present at the Westfalenhalle. In a moving speech, the 72-year-old expressed his gratitude for “being allowed to bear responsibility for a total of 20 years” — first as treasurer, then as vice-president, and finally as president — “in my, in our club. It was a lifelong dream, an honour, a joy and a privilege all at once.” For the future, the physician hopes “that we modernise our statutes and create transparency in the work of the committees.” He wished his successor Hans-Joachim Watzke and the new executive committee “all the best,” accompanied by a warm, conciliatory hug: “I will remain connected to the club: as a member of the supervisory board, as a club member, as a Borussia fan.” Watzke also expressed his conciliatory sentiments: “When we were staring into the abyss during the financial crisis and didn’t know how to proceed, dear Reinhold Lunow, I always had you by my side. You always supported me, you were always there for me in those moments, and for that I would like to thank you very much today.”
Treasurer Bernd Möllmann, who also stepped down from the board (“I am looking forward to a new role at the club”), reported a surplus of just under four million euros for the club in the 2024/25 financial year. Membership fees of over 12-million euros were the largest source of revenue. The share in the KGaA was increased to 5.9% through the acquisition of additional shares.
BVB member Dirk Kiessling emphasised that the statutes are no longer up to date. His motion under item 16.1 of the agenda (revision of §19 et seq.) was approved with 77% of the votes, thus achieving the required three-quarters majority. However, his further motion under item 16.2 (introduction of an age limit for club bodies) fell well short of the quorum (34%). The motion by members Timo Böhr and Christopher Giogios (strengthening democracy) was again clearly approved (80%). Benedict Killing’s motion (composition of the Economic Council) also received 80% of the votes. Dr Markus Schäfer withdrew his proposal (re-election or appointment to the Economic Council) and submitted it to the Statutes Committee. The motion by the former Executive Board (extension of the code of fundamental values) received 83%. Wilfried Harthan’s motion (transparency regarding the working methods of the club's bodies) received 94%. The issue of “multi” membership in the departments, presented by Daniel Borchers, also received clear approval (88%). The proposal to “change the club crest” could not be put to the vote because the proposer, Sam-Joel Renken, was no longer present at 11:51 CET.
Borussia Dortmund currently has 238,109 club members. In 2025, there has been an increase of around 17,500 members (27,800 new registrations, 6,300 cancellations, 3,900 excluded members). This means that BVB remains the fifth largest sports club in the world after Bayern Munich, Benfica (Portugal) and River Plate and Boca Juniors (both Argentina).
Boris Rupert