An atmosphere just like at the Allianz Arena, cheers for Olise – and regards from the Campus

As the ball hits the back of the net following an unstoppable long-range strike from Michael Olise against VfL Wolfsburg, Özen Samet makes himself heard above the cheers of the FC Bayern supporters at the Austrian Football Association’s Campus: The FCB member skilfully imitates Bayern stadium announcer Stephan Lehmann – and everyone responds just as they would at the Allianz Arena, including the obligatory “Thank you – You're welcome” in unison. The atmosphere was electric at the FC Bayern members’ Stammtisch in Vienna – and not just during the 90 minutes when, as the highlight of the event, the Bundesliga clash in Lower Saxony was shown on the big screen.

Right at the start, a video message from Herbert Hainer had also drawn everyone’s attention to the screen. The president sent his regards from the FC Bayern Campus: “Unfortunately, I can’t be with you today – among others, Sarah Zadrazil, Katharina Naschenweng and Barbara Dunst will be presented with the Meisterschale, and we'll also be honouring the team that won the first women’s championship in 1976.” The members filmed as Hainer continued: “At FC Bayern, dialogue with our grassroots supporters is important to us. Our regular Stammtisch get-togethers have proven their worth in allowing us to find out, through direct conversation, what's on your minds. FC Bayern must always be in tune with the people – that’s what defines us, and this closeness also makes us a family.”

Benny Folkmann, managing director of FC Bayern, explained that Vienna was the second Stammtisch to be held in Austria after Salzburg, “and we’ve already been to Cologne, Leipzig and Hamburg. Our club has over 17,000 members in Austria – the second-highest number after Germany; in total, we currently boast over 432,000 members. Since 2022, we've been organising various members' events on a regular basis; in the past few months alone, there has been plenty on offer, ranging from the promotion walk at Lake Tegernsee to various workshops, exclusive behind-the-scenes tours of the Allianz Arena, basketball and women’s football, as well as a president's discussion, curling at Nockherberg and our first Kegeln (skittles) tournament at Säbener Straße.” 250 members had applied for the Stammtisch in Vienna; 90 were randomly drawn to attend the day, which was centred around a relaxed discussion with Folkmann, his deputy Kiki Hasenpusch, Jasmin Gaßner (head of the membership department), Jenny Sajons (head of members' events) and director of fan relations Markus Meindl.

The menu featured Leberkäse (beef and pork loaf) and Mannerschnitten (Viennese wafers)– a culinary blend of Munich and Vienna – and, following the warm-up, the programme included a sporting overview of the men’s and women’s football teams and the basketball teams, as well as a keynote address on the history of the club. Members had also submitted questions in advance, which Hainer in his video message and the team on site addressed. Everything to do with club life was discussed, from Vincent Kompany’s work and the approach to training young talent, through the ‘PACK MA’S’ volunteer programme, the KIDS and TEENS CLUB, to the ‘Red against Racism’ initiative.

During the discussion, many members shared some remarkable anecdotes. Franz Baier, membership number 3150, for example, has had a ritual for years: whenever the new membership card is sent out, his wife is the first to check the letterbox eagerly to see if it has arrived yet – she gets more excited than her husband. When he gets his hands on the letter before she does, he doesn’t open it, but hands it to his wife, because she’s always the one to open the envelope – Baier then has to guess how low his new membership number is. Maximilian Ljubinkovic wrote the day after the Stammtisch: “I wanted to say thank you for the authentic way the event was run. That’s by no means a given – when you look at FC Bayern from the outside, you can honestly hardly imagine such a close connection with the fans. You can tell how much the club respects its members. Thank you very much.”