FC Schalke 04’s 2019 AGM round-up

The FC Schalke 04 supervisory board line-up remains unchanged, with the members present re-electing Clemens Tönnies and Peter Lange after their tenures were due to finish. Tönnies received 5,599 votes and Lange 4,043. The two further candidates for the board were Matthias Rüter and Ingolf Müller, who received 3,647 and 1,141 votes respectively.

Amendments to the club charter regarding wording in the ‘election format’ section were approved.

Two spots in the election committee were filled, with previous committee members Mathias Schipper and Thorsten Altfeld gaining the most votes.

Reports from the board and chairman

Around 10,000 members were at the VELTINS-Arena to join the club’s management for a review of the past season. Chairman of the supervisory board Clemens Tönnies and the three directors Jochen Schneider (sport), Alexander Jobst (marketing and communication) and Peter Peters (finance and organisation) also looked ahead to the future.

Clemens Tönnies was self-critical in his 2018/19 season review: “We as a board made the odd wrong decision personnel-wise and I take full responsibility for that. However, we are dealing with the consequences and have a plan. We have complete faith in Jochen Schneider, David Wagner, Michael Reschke and Sascha Riether to lead us out of this slump.”

At his first AGM as head of sport, Jochen Schneider looked to the future, announcing the signing of Ozan Kabak from Stuttgart and a new contract until 2024 for Weston McKennie. “Keeping talented players at the club long-term hasn’t happened often enough in the past,” said Schneider. “On the one hand, we need to begin these talks with players sooner, but we also need to aim for our players to have a closer relationship with FC Schalke 04.”

Alexander Jobst discussed his concerns for the club, with 2019 the first year where marketing revenue hasn’t increased. The issue is of course linked with last season’s on-the-pitch struggles, but Jobst also felt a growing sense of disaffection surrounding the club and called on the fans to help: “We will only get out of this situation with the courage to follow new paths, because Schalke’s relationship with its past does not match that of its future.” The marketing and communication director also unveiled the club’s new brand presence, representative of S04’s future plans.

Meanwhile, financial director Peter Peters reported the best figures in the club’s history, with the 2018 financial year providing a record €350.4 million turnover for FC Schalke 04, with a marked rise in revenue in most operative sections.