Success on all fronts

Youth football - success in all age groups

198 junior talents, including 15 national players in the U15 to U19 age groups, were active in the past season for Borussia Dortmund. Highlights were the A and B juniors. While the U19 were able to defend the title as German football champions, the U17 missed out on the final, though four semi-finals in a row highlights the outstanding work of this age group. The head of the junior department, Wolfgang Springer, stated: "We can be proud that we have made it so far."

The foundations are the teams of the age groups U9 to U11, who play their matches in the "Revier Cup" together with other Bundesliga clubs. Springer said, "here, the focus is on sporting and personal development and not on trying to get as high up in the table as possible." The association has recently introduced, in a test phase, a regional league for the U12 and U13 teams.

The transition into the high performers begins with the U14. "Although the team was able to win all matches in the second half of the season, unfortunately it was only enough for second place in the table," said Springer. The U15 were champions of the C-junior West regional league with the record of 24 wins, two draws and no defeatS. Going up a year to the U17 teams, Borussia Dortmunds U16 did very well to finish in third place, and with it the best attack in the league with 59 goals.

U17 miss out on the final, U19 win it

After three appearances in the final in a row (2014 to 2016), the U17 didn't make it to the final after their 1-1 and 0-3 in the semi-final against Werder Bremen. Despite this result, the Youth team head coach is still highly respected - "we fought hard and were unlucky to lose". In the current season, the U17 are ranked first with 13 wins in 14 games and are Autumn Champions in the Bundesliga West.

Although the U19 are lagging somewhat behind the expectations, BVB members applauded the successes of the past season. In front of 35,000 spectators at Signal Iduna Park, they beat FC Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot-out in the final of the German A-Youth Championship, before reaching the second round and the knockout stages in the UEFA Youth League, where FC Barcelona were then the final stop.

The sporting education is crucial for the youth development section of Borussia Dortmund. However, much emphasis is placed on looking after the boys in "their personality development through our qualified functional teams," emphasised Wolfgang Springer.

Handball - Germany's strongest youth set-up

A very positive development is also taking place for the junior team in handball. "Regionally, we win everything from the E- to the A tournaments," said departmental board member Andreas Heiermann: "We are probably doing the best youth work in the whole of Germany."

There have also been national successes. After the A- and B-juniors narrowly missed the title in the past season, this has now been declared the goal for the current season. How well these teams are individually staffed is highlighted by the fact that at the European Under-17 Championship, six players from Borussia Dortmund won the European champion title. "Thank you to all trainers and volunteers for this great work," said Heiermann, announcing "we want to get these talents to a professional level."

Borussia Dortmund is represented with four players at the home World Cup. However, Heimermann is not satisfied with the performance of the first women's team in the Bundesliga: sixth place in the 2016/17 season, currently seventh. "Our goal for the season is a better ranking." He combined this with an invitation to the next home game, which will take place after the World Cup on December 27th.

Table tennis - seniors national runners up

The singles title for Erik Bottroff at the West German Championships, as well as the team title for the seniors - who only in the final were nearly narrowly defeated - were the highlights of the table tennis department. The second division team also managed to save the league. After fourth place in the first round, it was only injury that prevented them from finishing in sixth place in the final standings. "The balance of the league was also seen in the fact that six out of our nine games just ended with 6:4 or 4:6," said department head Bernd Möllmann. The second team finished in the league a "good third place in the table". A total of five teams took part, from the district class to the second Bundesliga.

Fans - "No us without you"

The incidents surrounding the match in February against Rasenballsport Leipzig presented Torsten Schild with an opportunity to "remember another face of the fans". The chairman of the fan section said "after the incomprehensible and cowardly attack in April, the BVB fans showed their greatest side. After the cancellation of the Champions League match they offered a number of guests from Monaco, with the hashtag BedForAwayFans, places to stay. BVB's spirit and character to bring people together were experienced. The fans showed their true face!"

As in all previous years, Borussia Dortmund's fan department was highly engaged in anti-racism work. Schild stated "we are all in demand to continue to uphold the values of BVB: tolerance, cosmopolitanism and respectful dealings with everyone."

"Great successes and progress" have also been reported from a fan perspective. Torsten Schild called, amongst others, the secondary ticket market platform (which makes it possible to make a ticket already purchased legally and at a fair price available to other fans) as well as the abolition of pre-sale fees in international away games, and he emphasized the constructive and goal-oriented collaborative work between club management and fan department - "this is where everyone is working together at eye level!"

Another supporting pillar of the fan and promotional department are the many helpers who provide advice and assistance to help visitors seeking help at every home game. "To summarize: 300 volunteers are active in 09 working groups for the fan and promotiona; department. Countless hours of free time are put into service here for BVB, "said Torsten Schild: "No us without you!"

Blind football - women are the champions

For a year, the blind football department has belonged to BV Borussia. Hasan Caglikalp made his first appearance on the podium, earning thunderous applause, not least for a 2-0 win over Schalke 04. In Torball, the Black and Yellows missed the German championship title by one point, which the women in turn were able to secure. "I would like to sincerely thank you for joining our big family and allowing us to pursue our sport in an ambitious and carefree way," said Caglikalp. (br)