Page 19 - 358264 LP231909 A Love Supreme 48pp A5 (Issue 257)

members, each paying their monthly sub (10 EUR). There is no billionaire owner. We are the club. As members,
we elect the supervisory board, which in turn appoints the executive chairman. He is always on a fixed-term contract. So, if we thought he was doing a bad job,
NEWBIE
“But we are still a young fan club and we have to
find our place among the other fan clubs as well as we have to develop our fan club in a healthy and consistent way. As Union fans, we say “we didn’t come to find friends’, but that’s just a humorous saying. We are still a newbie in this league but despite all modesty, we have a lunatic support and I’m sure some of the other “older” clubs are a bit envious
of our fans. We support our team for the whole 90 minutes independently of the result. I think that’s kind of unique in the German Bundesliga. Some other supporters call us iconic in a disparaging sense, because the media often uses the frame “iconic” in relation to our club. But so what, our answer will still be the same “Wir sind Eure Hauptstadt, Ihr Bauern” (we are your capital, bitches)”
Jon Darch is involved in an English language fan page. According to Jon, the members of Union Berlin are the club, with no big billionaire owner in sight. “Most fans aren’t just fans, but rather co-owners of the club! So, that feels great!“ He said. “Union is a 100% members club. We currently have over 40,000
DONATE FOR THE HOMELESS
“But he’s doing a great job, so it’s never likely to come to that. What makes me proud much more than that is the way that Unioner (Union fans/members) always support others in society in greater need than themselves. That can be seen through simple things every matchday, like giving their glass beer bottles to impoverished collectors at the stadium gates, so that the latter can claim the deposits, and more generally through schemes to donate warm clothes each winter for the homeless, or even build ‘mini houses’ for them, and schemes during the height of the pandemic to raise money to keep local pubs afloat.
FILTHY LUCRE
“The English game, of course, sold its soul to the
filthy lucre many, many years ago. While elements of the German game are also very commercialised, the membership structure (members at most clubs control at least 50% of the voting rights, plus one vote) keeps things much more focused on the fans than is the case in England.”
Union are an exciting, fan run club that is on the up. The fans have literally bled for the club in the past (they donated blood to local hospitals and gave the money received in exchange back to the club) and, if the time came, they would more than likely do it again.
we could see to it via our power to vote supervisory board members onto and off of that board that his contract didn’t get renewed. That is real power and true ownership.”
NO BILLIONAIRE OWNER
ALOVESUPREME
ISSUE257
19
BY PADDY HOLLIS