FC Bayern - that's more than 290,000 members, with at least as many opinions if not more about what's best for the club. Nevertheless, FCB always strives to speak with one voice. But how? That was the question a good 30 FC Bayern members asked themselves last Saturday morning at the FC Bayern Campus in the north of Munich. The participants in the first-ever workshop were tasked with debating over what challenges FCB currently faces in terms of its relationship with fans and members, and what can be used to meet their needs.
The participants were partly approached by the club, partly by the fan dialogue working group and the active fanbase, and partly selected by lottery from the invitations sent out beforehand - with more than 500 registrations for the workshop received. "It's about new forms of dialogue between the club and its members and about the question of how to give a platform to many diverse voices," said Benny Folkmann, managing director of FCB eV, who organized the event together with his team.
A lively debate quickly ensued at four discussion tables about life at the club and topics such as sustainability and diversity, but also around the question of how to better resolve differences of opinion at future AGMs. No one kept quiet. And that's a good thing. After all, what's the point of a workshop if you don't tackle the really big issues? In addition to topics such as the desire for a greater presence of the club in Munich city life or the proximity of the pros to the fans, there were more specific wishes: for example, sponsoring sports restaurants to ensure a nationwide broadcast of Bayern games or - a suggestion from Heiner Jüngling, recently No.1 club member - official carnival celebrations again, as has been the case in previous years.
After two and a half hours of concentrated work, the participants presented their collected results to FCB president Herbert Hainer. He was highly interested. Even after the official end of the event, Hainer took the time to discuss urgent questions with the fans. "I thank you for your food for thought," said Hainer, "and promise you all that we take the convictions of the fans very seriously."
Photo credit: Priscillia Grubo
