New group of Afghans to land for resettlement – DW – 11/20/2025

Outgoing Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke is set to be tapped for a different role as president of the Bundesliga club on Sunday.

But the influential German football boss is likely to face questions about historical sexual abuse allegations against a former club employee, as well as issues over his personal travel expenses.

In October, local Dortmund police confirmed that sexual abuse complaints had been made against a former BVB employee, with allegations made between the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Responding to the allegations, the club confirmed that it had received complaints about the alleged abuser in 2010 and again in 2023, before dismissing him from an unspecified but minor position and “ensuring that he leaves the club.”

According to new research from a German news magazine spiegel and public broadcaster Sportschou Published Thursday CEO Watzke was aware of the 2010 complaint, but appeared to want to distance himself from it. In an email regarding the alleged abuser’s firing, Watzke wrote: “Do what you want but please don’t put me in CC anymore.”

BVB says Watzke fully supported dismissal of alleged abuser, but fresh allegations made by victims to tabloid image last month and Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) has highlighted the issue again this week, just days before the club’s annual members’ meeting on Sunday, at which Watzke is set to be elected unopposed as club president.

Meanwhile, Wotzke is also facing questions over his personal travel expenses. according to spiegel And SportschouThe 66-year-old racked up private flight costs of more than €62,000 ($71,532) in the space of just three months in 2023 alone – including from Dortmund to Berlin (500 kilometres/310 miles) for a meeting of European Club Association (ECA) officials and from Dortmund to Hamburg (350 kilometres/217 miles) for a media awards ceremony.

The BVB insists that all of Watzke’s private flights had a “work purpose” and were authorized internally, but such topics would likely be of interest to the 235,000 club members who are entitled to vote for them at Sunday’s meeting.

Watzke has taken the reins at BVB since taking charge in 2005, when he was credited with saving the financially troubled club from imminent bankruptcy. Dortmund have since won two Bundesliga titles and three German Cups under top coaches such as Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, establishing themselves as Germany’s second-biggest club behind Bayern Munich.

In that time, Wotzke has held additional roles in the German Football League (DFL), the German Football Federation (DFB) and UEFA, making him one of the most influential figures in European football.