The plan had been to take a 15-minute break after 90 minutes before heading into the second half of the evening - but even the duration of an entire football match proved insufficient. For the first time, FC Bayern had invited members to a statutes forum ahead of the annual general meeting, and the discussions at the FC Bayern Campus, led by facilitator Oliver Forster, were as passionate as they were objective.
"I would like to thank all those who participated," said Professor Dr Dieter Mayer, who represented the executive board as senior vice-president, in closing. "I assure you: Everything that has been discussed here today will not just go in one ear and out the other. This event has confirmed for us once again: FC Bayern has magnificent members - you are FC Bayern, and together we look after this club in prosperity and adversity. That's exactly how the executive board thinks and feels." That it was a successful event was also the conclusion of the 50 members, with the discussions held on a superb level and an equal footing.
"Room for an open-ended, constructive and also critical dialogue"
More than 300 applications had been received for the meeting. Among the 50 members attending were the 28 who had submitted proposals for the statutes, with the remaining participants being drawn at random. A range of topics such as the club values, the future organisation and conduct of the annual general meeting (AGM), and the composition of the executive board or administrative advisory board were discussed collectively. The comprehensive proposal for amending the 2021 statutes by the statutes committee was also a topic of discussion. Benny Folkmann, managing director of FC Bayern eV, outlined the goal of the event as follows: "There should be room for an open-ended, constructive and also critical dialogue. We want to listen to each other."
Among other things, the way in which the AGM is conducted was debated at length, with the club's position being made clear several times that it generally prefers a face-to-face event to a hybrid or digital procedure: The central character of the event is the coming together as well as the active discourse with one another. However, the interests of members who are not able to attend in person should also be taken into account.
In order to enable members to attend the meeting in person, the club has already signalled its intention to schedule it for an earlier time in the day so attendees would be able to arrive and depart on the same day. Holding it on a home match weekend and announcing the date earlier should also help to bring more members back to the AGM and make the declining attendance a thing of the past. After all, only a very small proportion of members recently took advantage of the opportunity to have an active say in the future of FC Bayern. Participation in an AGM is democracy in action and, consequently, it is important to be there.
All those present agreed that member participation is important and correct. However, the election, composition and tasks of the club committees as well as the participation rights of members were discussed very intensively and controversially. In particular, the dialogue formats introduced are intended to make it possible for members to participate in club life throughout the year. The discussion of the practicability of club work and decision-making in the club with the largest membership in the world largely led to an understanding of the way the relevant processes are currently handled. However, members and club representatives agreed on one thing: the club's statutes, which are now 123 years old, must continue to be structured in a sustainable, lean and person-independent manner in the best interests of FC Bayern.
After almost three hours of extensive debates, the participants took their leave. They also left with Professor Dr Mayer's conclusion ringing in their ears: "Thomas Müller is not the only one with a red heart.
Recently, the first away FC Bayern members' Stammtisch (regulars' table) was held in Cologne:
