DOSB Leadership Hopes to Avoid Early Elections

(ATR)For Alfons Hörmann, the battle for his office as President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) is entering the decisive phase.

After the Olympic and Paralympic Games, a vote of confidence is to be held at an extraordinary general meeting in late summer. The DOSB chief is hoping for backing to remain in office and thus avoid new elections. The crisis surrounding the serious accusations against Hörmann and the DOSB leadership from among the staff is to be resolved with the confidence test, the presidium and executive board decided after three days of deliberations on Thursday.

This means that the association's leadership is only fulfilling part of the recommendations of the DOSB Ethics Commission. In addition to the vote of confidence, the committee headed by former Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière had recommended "early elections for the entire executive committee" for the next general meeting in December.

At Hörmann's insistence, the vote of confidence is now to be held earlier. It is questionable whether an opposition against the controversial president can form so quickly. The presidium around Hörmann needs a clear majority in the vote of confidence, otherwise new elections are still threatened. Originally, new elections were not planned until 2022.

Hörmann said he was "aware of the special responsibility for German sport, the DOSB and our employees," commenting on the decision to hold the vote of confidence. This was not unanimous. Athletes' representative Jonathan Koch did not support the decision, according to a DOSB spokesman.

In contrast, basketball federation head Ingo Weiss, as spokesman for the top associations, welcomed the move.

"There will be intensive discussions at the general meeting and it will be made clear there how we can get the sport off the siding where it currently stands and get it back on the rails," Weiss said. It is "about time that we get there".

The dispute at the DOSB was triggered at the beginning of May by an anonymous letter from the staff. The letter contained serious accusations against Hörmann and the head of the association. There was talk of a "climate of fear" at the DOSB headquarters in Frankfurt am Main. Hörmann was accused of psychological pressure on employees and a lax approach to Covid-19 regulations.

Homepage photo of DOSB headquarters: DOSB

Written and reported by Piet Kreuzer

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