President Reinhard Rauball from the Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund draws a line. The 75-year-old will not run once more in November following a total of 23 years in office. BVB announced this on Tuesday following Rauball had informed the election committee chairman Winfried Materna. Rauball will propose his current deputy Reinhold Lunow as his successor.
“Every minute of my tenure I have been proud to be President of this great club. For 23 years I did this job with a lot of heart and soul,” said Rauball. Borussia Dortmund has always been a formative part of his life, it still is and always will be: “It fills me with great joy that I have had the honor three times to thank my Borussia, which has such a deep impact on society, to serve as President and to be able to help bring them out of difficult situations.”
Rauball was elected BVB President for the third time in 2004. During his first term of office from 1979 to 1982, the then 32-year-old lawyer went down in history as the youngest president of a Bundesliga soccer club. His second term of office between 1984 and 1986 was characterized by an economic crisis at BVB, which was successfully overcome not least thanks to Rauball became.
“Our president has made outstanding contributions to BVB. All Borussia owe him a great debt of gratitude for that,” said managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke: “His willingness to make himself available once more for the office of president in the most existential crisis of our club in 2004 laid the foundation for everything that subsequently and to this day at BVB.”
During Rauball’s third term as president, Borussia Dortmund won two league titles, three German Cups and reached the 2013 Champions League final.
(SID) / Image: Imago
