The members of Rollwagerl 93 eV will find a nice place for the gift after Herbert Hainer brought along an original jersey with all the signatures of the FC Bayern team as well as a certificate to mark the 30th anniversary of Europe's largest independent inclusive fan club. The 170 attendees at the St. Theresia hotel in Munich applauded the president for a long time when he took his seat on the stage with chairman Kim Krämer, who is also FC Bayern's representative for disabled fans, to talk in a panel discussion about what the German record champions have achieved together with Rollwagerl eV down the years.
Herbert Hainer: “Role models for our society”
“You are all role models for our society,” said Hainer. “You encourage people and show how important it is to constantly develop together. We know that we still have a long way to go when it comes to inclusion. But together with you, we are implementing one project after another to keep improving things. Thank you for that.”
During the conversation on stage, Krämer emphasised how much FC Bayern is pushing the issue of inclusion. “The project to develop sign language for the players, for example, is unique, because the club implemented it thanks to deaf fans and it is sustainable. It won't just last for a season or two but will remain a permanent part of FC Bayern's culture.” Since the beginning of the year, the sign language names have also been available on the portraits of Manuel Neuer and his teammates on the FC Bayern website, and Martina Bechtold, the chairwoman of the Red Deaf fan club, who was present, explained that she still had goosebumps after Hainer's Christmas message. “He is the first president in German football to use sign language. That means an awful lot to us,” she said through an interpreter. “All of this helps to break down barriers,” said Krämer, who also thanked partners such as Hypovereinsbank and Audi for their support of Rollwagerl.
When it comes to accessibility, Hainer added: “It's not enough just to have a ramp somewhere. Inclusion starts in the mind - ramps have to be built in people's minds so that they can find each other even more.” Bayern take the issue seriously, the president stressed, “through our Red against Racism campaign, with which we are committed to diversity and combating exclusion of any kind, we are achieving a lot together.” Before Hainer took time to take some souvenir photos and sign autographs, he made clear what is important to him with regard to the future of FC Bayern: “This club is also characterised by its family focus - we must preserve this. Cohesion is what makes us strong, and everyone should feel valued and at home with us. I will work hard to achieve this as long as I am here. I promise you that.“
FC Bayern will hold a memorial service at the Allianz Arena on Friday to honour the late Franz Beckenbauer:
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