Oliver Kahn gave his first YHV speech as head of FC Bayern
Source: AFP / CHRISTOF STACHE
There is a lot going on at the general meeting of FC Bayern. The club officials defend the unvaccinated Joshua Kimmich. But it gets really loud towards the end. It’s about business with Qatar.
NAfter two hours as a silent listener on the podium, Oliver Kahn took off the red corona protective mask and stepped to the lectern. In his premiere speech as CEO, the former goalkeeper titan praised his club as a role model at the annual general meeting of FC Bayern Munich and vigorously warned against the investor-controlled clubs in Europe. “We are currently experiencing the most fundamental change that football has ever seen. That is why we are fighting at the forefront to ensure that investors cannot pump unlimited money into clubs, ”said 52-year-old Kahn, who replaced Karl-Heinz Rummenigge at the top of the board of the German record champions last summer.
“With us there is definitely no investor group or a multimillionaire,” said Kahn, who promised the members in the Audi Dome on Thursday evening: “We will continue to go our own way in Bavaria.”
The memory of the late goalscorer legend Gerd Müller had stood at the beginning of the first membership convention in the Corona crisis, at which the bosses around Kahn and club president Herbert Hainer also wanted to endure the controversial issue of Qatar. There were the first whistles in the Audi Dome when President Hainer initially complained about the sometimes “vile” tone in the discourse about the sponsorship partnership with Qatar Airways. In the course of the evening, the topic should be discussed in more detail, as Hainer announced. But it took a while.
In the presence of the honorary president Uli Hoeneß and the friendly applauded coach Julian Nagelsmann, Hainer sang a hymn to his club. “FC Bayern will never be a kicking company,” said Hainer. Special thanks went to Hansi Flick, the seven-title coach and predecessor of Nagelsmann (34).
Big financial losses
The numerous title trophies not only for footballers were initially carried on stage, such as the championship trophy from national player Leroy Sané. Presidium elections were not on the agenda this year. Corona influenced the course of the meeting. A maximum of 1700 members were admitted under the 2G plus rule.
In the fourth wave, the serial champion is not only hit hard by infected professionals who have been forced into quarantine. Kahn and Hainer again promoted vaccination as the “best way” out of the pandemic. You also talk to your own professionals all the time. At the same time, the bosses protected themselves in front of unvaccinated players like Joshua Kimmich, who has just tested positive. “It’s not okay to pillory our players and especially our Joshua Kimmich!” Said Hainer energetically.
The Bundesliga Croesus also has to cope with major financial losses due to Corona. The total group turnover shrank in the 2020/21 season to 643.9 million euros. That is over 100 million euros less than in the record year 2018/19. After all, there was still a minimal profit of 1.9 million euros after taxes. However, CFO Jan-Christian Dreesen sees the association “on a solid foundation”. The largest expenditure item is the personnel costs including the top salaries for stars like Robert Lewandowski of almost 350 million euros. The most important income items are sponsoring and marketing (206.7 million euros) as well as gaming operations (147.9 million).
“The problem is that you don’t give a shit about human rights!”
The lucrative partnership with Qatar Airways, which some of the members and fans dislike massively, also contributes to the sponsorship result. The attempt by member Michael Ott to get the meeting to vote on the Qatar sponsorship was rejected by the Munich District Court I a few hours before the meeting.
Together with like-minded people, Ott wants to get the club to put pressure on FC Bayern AG so that the multi-million dollar contract with Qatar’s state airline, which runs until 2023, is ended and not extended. The 2022 World Cup host country has come under heavy criticism on human rights issues and employment relationships, for example on the World Cup construction sites.
When Ott went to the microphone, it was very busy. His spontaneous application in the matter was again rejected. Vice-President Dieter Mayer said: “Do you want us to vote on Audi at the end of the day, or whether we play in the blue and white jersey?” The hall was boiling. Loud boos from all corners. A woman shouted, “The problem is, you don’t give a shit about human rights!” Applause broke out. That ended the subject for the evening. But it is far from over.
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