It was a first for FC Bayern and Herbert Hainer, when the president visited fans abroad as part of the German record champions' members' Stammtisch events. At the "Die Weisse" restaurant in Salzburg, Hainer as well as deputy vice-president Walter Mennekes and Benny Folkmann, managing director of FC Bayern eV, answered questions from a total of 50 members from Austria. "In Austria, we have 10,000 or so registered supporters, the most after Germany," said Hainer. "FC Bayern and Austria are not only connected by the colours red and white, but also by a rich tradition of shared successes thanks to great players, starting with Gustl Starek and Andy Herzog to two-time Champions League winner David Alaba and current Bayern midfielder Konrad Laimer. We had some nice conversations today."
An hour before the event began, Walter Mennekes had taken matters into his own hands: The deputy vice-president climbed up onto chairs to attach the FC Bayern banners to the walls. The scene was set as the members, who had been drawn from 240 registrations, took their seats. Hainer earned much applause during his welcome speech when he began by congratulating Austria on securing qualification for the 2024 European Championship the previous day. To the amusement of the audience, he remarked with a wink that the winner in the 1-0 in Azerbaijan had been scored by Marcel Sabitzer, who had spent a year at Bayern. Hainer also praised Christoph Freund, who had done such a remarkable job at Salzburg. With him, FC Bayern hope to largely avoid the international transfer madness, because the new sporting director has earned many merits over the years both in the promotion of talents and in the discovery of high-calibre players. Among other things, Freund nurtured Dayot Upamecano from an early stage at Salzburg - today he's a first-choice player in the German record champions' defence. "In Christoph Freund, we have an expert who has specialised knowledge and a feel for potential - we're delighted we have him," said Hainer.
FC Bayern has a total of 165 fan clubs throughout Austria - three of which are based in Salzburg. Among the members present were Helmut Ölsinger and Heinz-Peter Reiser, two special supporters who both have a membership number below 10,000, so they've been loyal supporters of the club for a long time. There was no way they were going to miss the meeting. One visitor concluded: "Whether it's Liverpool, Real Madrid or Juventus: no other club is as close to its fans as FC Bayern." On 12 November, the annual general meeting will take place in the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich from 11:00 CET - the club is looking forward to return visits from its members from Austria so they can cast their votes on important decisions for the future.
The FC Bayern 2023 annual general meeting will take place in November:
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