Thomas Weikert received his first whistles even before the general meeting of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), of which he is president, had even begun. There will not be an “appropriate flat-rate compensation for expenses for members of the Presidium” any time soon, as Weikert and his Presidium want and as two-thirds of the members would have to decide. Weikert withdrew the application during a dispute with the associations on Thursday evening.
Spokespeople for state sports associations and professional associations accused Weikert of not communicating appropriately. They claimed that the decision was not about fundamental considerations, but primarily about compensating for the loss of earnings at the Weikert law firm in Limburg an der Lahn. The combination of this interest with the intended increase in contributions from nine to 14 cents for each of the almost 28 million memberships, an increase of 1.4 million euros annually, is particularly unfortunate.
The central argument for transferring the fundamental discussion about the remuneration of volunteer work and its appropriateness to a working group that is to be appointed next year was the prospect of a discussion this Saturday that would be damaging to the association’s reputation. They don’t want to offer the public a spectacle. The results of the working group can therefore be discussed at the general meeting in 2025 at the earliest, and compensation for expenses cannot be paid until 2026 at the earliest.
Weikert, a self-employed lawyer from Limburg an der Lahn, defended himself against the accusation of lack of transparency and offered to provide proof of his law firm’s losses. According to the DOSB, he has attended 278 appointments for the umbrella organization on 154 days so far this year. Weikert explained that he pointed this out early on and also campaigned for compensation in the associations. The decision, however, has no impact on his willingness and motivation to continue to work as President of the DOSB. In doing so, Weikert was probably addressing those who see contradicting the president’s pay as a means of scaring him out of office.
A comment from Anno Hecker Published/Updated: Christoph Becker and Anno Hecker Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Michael Reinsch, Berlin Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 4
In the dispute over the creation of a so-called independent agency for the financing and control of top-class sport, the DOSB changed the application a second time, in which it insisted on the implementation of the detailed concept negotiated between itself and the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Budget Committee blocked the funds for the establishment of the agency in order, among other things, to force Parliament to control the financial resources amounting to 300 million euros.
