At Borussia Dortmund, a combat vote for the office of the club president is out. Hans-Joachim Watzke now officially announced his candidacy.
“At our next general meeting, I stand for election as President of Borussia Dortmund. So I will follow the request of the BVB committees”, Watzke said on Wednesday (13.08.2025) in a statement. Initial owner Reinhold Lunow announced in early June that he would face the re -election – Watzke now announced his opposite candidacy on the birthday of his competitor.
Since the relationship between the 66 -year -old entrepreneur Watzke and the 72 -year -old doctor Lunow is considered broken, a tough election campaign is expected. Watzke now says: “It would be an honor for me if I could continue to support our association in this important office after 20 years of operational activity. Reinhold Lunow I informed my decision in a personal conversation.”
Vote also possible for the first time digitally
For the first time in the club’s history, there should be a hybrid general meeting. The adults among the approximately 230,000 members of the Borussia ball game club will therefore be able to participate and vote in presence or digitally.
An appointment for the general meeting, on which a president, a deputy and a treasurer should be elected to the Presidium, has not yet been determined. Traditionally, however, BVB always puts the meeting on the Sunday of the Dead, which is November 23 this year.
For years it has been an open secret that Watzke wants to switch from the position of spokesman for the management in the outsourced corporation to that of the president in the registered association.
Farewell from the Management
The mighty football official already announced in January 2024 that he would leave the management of the listed company “in autumn 2025”.
Due to the merits of Watzke, who saved the BVB from bankruptcy 20 years ago, to several titles, twice to the final of the Champions League and to a company with far more than half a billion euros in sales, it was long assumed that nobody would oppose the supposed intentions.
But that is the case now. “I am again running as President of Borussia Dortmund”said Lunow in June. He has been president for three years, was chosen as Reinhard Rauball in 2022, was previously treasurer,
Lunow announced that an appointment not to run if Watzke was applying for the PrSaiideway because he had come into a dispute with the KGAA boss. Among other things, it was about the sponsorship deal with the armaments group Rheinmetall and dealing with political extremists. During the general meeting 2024 there were controversial discussions about these themed blocks and applications, which were coordinated in the sense of Lunows.
In view of his low awareness, however, the doctor is considered an outsider for the election, especially since it can also be coordinated digitally.
Watzkes much influence in the UEFA
Watzke has not only been known to the members of the BVB, but the general public for decades. He is the supervisory board head of the German Football League and as deputy spokesman for the DFL Presidium Qua Office Vice President of the German Football Association. For the DFB he sits in the Executive Committee of the European Football Union UEFA.
An important position in the club is a prerequisite for being represented in committees of associations. Since Watzke will still be the managing director if the DFL will come together in Berlin on September 3 in Berlin and the DFB in November, his posts are initially not at risk.
Just confirmed at the UEFA
At UEFA, Watzke was only confirmed in the office of a Vice President in early April. After a meeting of the Executive Committee in Bilbao, it became known in May that Watzke will now also become the deputy chairman of the Commission for Club competitions and thus get even more influence.
The Champions League is designed in the commission for club competitions and thus distributed a lot of money.