Rot-Weiss Essen invites its members to the extraordinary annual general meeting (AGM) this Sunday. Start at 11 am. All information in the live ticker.

The annual general meeting of Rot-Weiss Essen came to a premature end on June 25 after a deficit of 3.63 million euros caused a stir. As there were no ballot papers available, it was not possible to vote properly on the discharge of the Executive Board and Supervisory Board and the amendments to the articles of association. These points are to be made up for today in an extraordinary meeting. You won’t miss any developments here:

2.25 p.m.: Nothing more to say, Walther Müggenburg hands over once again to Marcus Uhlig, who concludes by thanking us on behalf of Rot-Weiss Essen. That concludes the event.

14:22: Now there is another standing ovation – for Silvia Zimmert. The member of staff in Membership Services is retiring next year after 42 years at the club and is honored for her services

2.20 p.m.: The sixth item on the agenda, motions, is dealt with quickly as no motions were submitted.

2.16 p.m.: After a lengthy discussion, this motion is also rejected – this time by a clear majority.

2.11 p.m.: Another request to speak comes from a long-standing member who expresses his confidence in the Election Committee. Another member calls for the motion to be postponed until next year – but Nick David rejects this.

14:09: Former fan representative Dirk Kindsgrab now takes the floor. He explains how he applied to Hülsmann for the supervisory board, but was told by him that the election committee did not want to nominate him. He argues in favor of the motion and calls for more democracy.

2.05 p.m.: The core of Hülsmann’s long speech: “We have done well with the previous structure.” No criticism had been leveled at the election committee. The motion is not an improvement.

2 p.m.: Election committee member Christian Hülsmann gives a detailed insight into the committee. According to him, the task is to “avoid random personnel decisions”, meaning that no one can join the Supervisory Board without the green light from the committee.

1.52 p.m.: The Election Committee calls for the vote to be withheld. According to this, there have not been any real elections in the past, not because the Election Committee wanted it that way, but because there were simply no candidates. The new proposal would not change this.

13:48: The last motion also comes from Nick David. It concerns the elections to the Supervisory Board. In his opinion, there have been “no real elections” so far, which is why the election procedure should be changed. The member demands that from now on there should be more candidates than places available. Members (with five supporters) or sponsors should also be able to nominate candidates in order to ensure “a real election”.

1.44 pm: The motion is rejected, the minimum age for voting at the AGM remains 18. There were 231 votes in favor, 309 against and 82 abstentions.

1.40 p.m.: Opinions differ on this motion, so it takes a little longer.

1.36 p.m.: Another member joins online and again speaks out in favor of the change. The young people should be picked up as early as possible.

13:33: After Nick David’s statement, Alexander Rang now also comments on the issue. The Board of Directors Sales pleads for the motion to be rejected, as the decisions at the AGM are associated with great responsibility. The comparison with the voting age of 16 is also misleading, as membership of RWE is not a birthright, but an economic decision.

13:31: The first motion relates to the minimum age for voting at Annual General Meetings. This is to be lowered from 18 to 16.

1.29 p.m.: This means that the six points in the Articles of Association have all been approved. Two further motions from member Nick David now follow.

13:27: As Uhlig explains, sustainability in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga is already part of the licensing process. With a clear majority, this point is now also anchored in RWE’s statutes.

13:25: Finally, a vote is held on an amendment to the articles of association on the subject of the purpose and mission of the club. This paragraph is to be expanded to include the following point: “The association is committed to future generations. Ecological, social and economic sustainability are valuable guidelines for the association.”

1.20 p.m.: The next amendment concerns the Executive Board. From now on, not only player and coach contracts with a term of more than one year will require the approval of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. It is specified that this also applies to employees of the first team, as well as senior staff and head coaches of the U17 and U19 teams at the NLZ. Once again, the approval is clear.

13:15: Now it gets a little more complicated. A small passage in paragraph 17 concerning the supervisory board is to be changed, Helf explains that this would simplify the process, again there is a clear majority.

1.11 p.m.: The next amendment to the Articles of Association: from now on, the vote of the Chairman of the Management Board should count double in decisions within the Management Board should there be a tie vote between the members present. Here too, the majority is clear and the motion is approved with well over 500 votes.

1.08 p.m.: The procedure is now accelerated somewhat. From now on, the head of the committee, Walther Müggenburg, will only count the votes against and abstentions in the case of clear decisions.

1.06 p.m.: This motion is also clearly approved: 616 votes in favor, 5 against and 12 abstentions.

1.03 p.m.: The next motion relates to the general meeting. From now on, this should no longer have to take place by June 30, but “should be held by December 31 and must be held by January 31 of the following year at the latest”.

1 p.m.: Meanwhile, the team has to leave the hall early as training is about to begin. Once again, the members rise to their feet and prepare a loud farewell.

12.58 p.m.: With 664 votes in favor, four against and two abstentions, the motion is approved. This means that RWE’s financial year will no longer begin on January 1, but on July 1.

12.55 p.m.: Now eight amendments to the Articles of Association are voted on one after the other. A majority of two thirds is required in each case. The first is the adjustment of the financial year to the season.

12.53 p.m.: With 609 votes in favor, 59 against and 39 abstentions, the actions of the Supervisory Board for the 2022 financial year are also approved.

12.50 p.m.: Once again, at first glance, the result appears to be clearly in favor of discharge.

12.47 p.m.: The same procedure now follows for the discharge of the Supervisory Board

12.45 p.m.: The count is complete. With 612 votes in favor, 57 against and 27 abstentions, the actions of Marcus Uhlig are ratified.

12.38 p.m.: The count takes some time again, it is held very precisely. At first glance, however, the result is clearly in favor of discharge

12.34 p.m.: The motion was rejected with only 107 votes in favor, so the discharge is now voted on publicly by green (for), red (against) and white (abstention) cards.

12.30 p.m.: However, there is a request for a secret ballot beforehand. This time, the votes are counted in a much more organized manner, so it takes a little while before a result is reached.

12.26 p.m.: The next item on the agenda: the discharge of the Board of Directors. 460 members entitled to vote have gathered in the hall, with more than 200 taking part online. In total, around 700 members are allowed to vote.

12.24 p.m.: Schäfer once again speaks in favor of the discharge of the Management Board and Supervisory Board, then his presentation is also over.

12.20 p.m.: Schäfer believes the club is “on the right track” both for 2023 and for the results of the season and is positive that the financial targets can be achieved.

12.17 p.m.: Schäfer shows positive results and black figures for the first half of the year. There is a positive result of 41,000 euros and no danger of going out of business. “But it’s also clear that we can’t afford any more slip-ups.”

12.15 p.m.: “Sascha Plejhan’s funds have been used purposefully,” says Schäfer, looking back on the 2021/22 regional league season. The goal of promotion was achieved.

12.11 p.m.: Schäfer explains: “When you get promoted, you have additional costs – that could also happen to us this year.”

12.06 p.m.: Schäfer summarizes the key messages of the “small AGM” and emphasizes once again that the figures were not as bad as they initially seemed.

12.02 p.m.: Hans-Henning Schäfer now takes the floor. The Supervisory Board member takes another look at the 2022 financial year.

11.59 a.m.: Rang gives an insight into the area of sales. According to him, companies are definitely interested in RWE. “I can’t tell you when the next big sponsorship deal will come, but I can promise you this: We’ll have knocked on every big door in Essen by the end of the season.”

11.56 am: In addition to the team, Rang also praises all Rot-Weiss Essen employees. Problems, such as in ticketing, are not due to the employees themselves, but to the number of staff and the system. But Rang promises improvement for the future: “We’re working on it.”

11.53 a.m.: Alexander Rang now takes over. The Chief Sales Officer wants to look back on his first few months in the position. Rang is “proud” to be part of RWE.

11.51 a.m.: The Chairman of the Supervisory Board lists second division clubs such as Wiesbaden, Fürth and Elversberg. The tenor: If these clubs can play in the 2nd Bundesliga, then RWE can too.

11.49 a.m.: Helf calls for a clear signal to the outside world and wants to show solidarity in order to achieve the goal of expanding the stadium.

11.45 am: Helf reacts to a Gargarmel comparison and assures that he is not an opponent of “the Smurfs”, in this case the club and the fans. He also apologizes once again for the framework he used to criticize the fans in June. “I had no intention of stepping on people’s toes.”

11.40 a.m.: The CEO once again asks for the actions of the Executive Board to be approved, after which he hands over to the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Dr. André Helf

11.38 a.m.: Uhlig looks back on the past few months and sees RWE “on the right track”. The Chairman also welcomes the expansion of the Executive Board and praises the cooperation to date with his new colleagues Sascha Peljhan and Alexander Rang.

11.35 a.m.: Uhlig announces that the company will be in the black for the 2023 calendar year and, as planned, for the 2023/24 season.

11.33 a.m.: Uhlig also thanks the fans and is pleased that there hasn’t been an uncomfortable topic so far this season.

11.31 a.m.: Uhlig apologizes once again for the AGM in June. The CEO hopes that the only point of criticism today will be that there are blue and white pens.

11.30 a.m.: First, Uhlig announces the current number of members. As of yesterday, RWE has 10,816 members.

11:28 a.m.: There is another review of the small AGM, in which the economic situation is discussed in detail.

11:25 a.m.: Müggenburg praises the team and the fans for their performances so far – including the pyro show in Dortmund. The chairman of the meeting emphasizes that he is glad that the fines in this area have not yet reached 100,000 euros.

11.22 a.m.: After the video, the team and staff enter the hall. The members present rise to their feet and give a standing ovation.

11.18 a.m.: A film with highlights from the current season is shown on the screen. “Thank you for the season so far” is the message.

11.17 a.m.: The Lord Mayor emphasizes once again that the 3rd division is not where RWE belongs and expresses his confidence in the Executive Board and Supervisory Board, then the speech ends.

11.15 a.m.: Thomas Kufen praises the fans, who “can keep up with Bundesliga clubs”. He also urges diversity within the club and emphasizes that the fans also act as “ambassadors for the city” when away from home.

11.13 a.m.: However, the Lord Mayor also emphasizes that a high level of “professionalism” is required from both the club and the supporters in order to convince the critics of corner expansion.

11.10 a.m.: Lord Mayor Kufen speaks out clearly in favor of the corner extension at Hafenstraße – “not only for Red & White, but also for future international matches”.

11.07 a.m.: Lord Mayor Thomas Kufen takes the floor. He starts by looking back at last June and is certain that “everyone involved has learned their lesson”.

11.03 a.m.: Marcus Uhlig opens the meeting. Walther Müggenburg then takes over as chair, explaining the procedure with the voting cards.

11 a.m.: The hall at Messe Europa fills up – the team is also present this time.

10.45 a.m.: In the meantime, there has already been a meeting with the members in which the balance sheet was discussed in more detail – and things are now also going well in sporting terms. Things should therefore be much more relaxed than in the summer