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Volunteering in football: ideas and exchange at the board meeting in Grafenwald
The board meeting took place in Gelsenkirchen on November 24th, 2025 to discuss challenges in volunteer work and develop strategies.
Volunteering in football: ideas and exchange at the board meeting in Grafenwald
On November 24th, 2025, an exciting board meeting of District 12 took place in the VfL Grafenwald sports facility. 21 club representatives from 13 football clubs gathered here to discuss the challenges and opportunities of volunteering in sport. Loud FLVW Gelsenkirchen The event was a complete success, not least thanks to the informative insights from Nele Wiechert, FLVW speaker.
One of the central topics was attracting, retaining and valuing volunteers. The representatives were able to develop valuable strategies and approaches to improve their club work. "Networking and personal exchange are essential. Without our volunteers we could not maintain non-profit sport," emphasized Mathias Deckers, FLVW assistant for club development, who was very satisfied with how the event went and expressed his thanks to VfL Grafenwald for their hospitality.
The exchange in focus
The board meeting allows two or three club representatives to share their ideas and exchange ideas about proven measures. This platform, which is initiated by the Football and Athletics Association of Westphalia (FLVW), aims to find new ways for club work. This is done in collaboration with the districts and district/city sports associations. How on FLVW can be read, board members learn how other clubs successfully overcome challenges and benefit from the exchange of contacts and information.
The event covered five topics that are important to the clubs. These ranged from club development and young volunteerism to modern club life and addressing girls and women in football. This also meets the needs of clubs, who are often not informed about the available offers.
Volunteering as the basis of club sports
Sports clubs are based on voluntary commitment, which is of utmost importance in German sport. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) emphasizes that there are over 8 million members who regularly participate in club sports. This area is the largest in the nonprofit sector, and without the volunteer efforts, sport as we know it would not be possible. The sport is also linked to social developments such as demographic change and changing lifestyles. There is increasing research into how traditional forms of volunteering can be integrated into modern ways of life, which underlines the importance of events like these DOSB be described.
The board meeting not only created a space for exchange and collection of ideas, but also took a step in the right direction to improve the framework conditions for volunteer work. The hospitality of VfL Grafenwald and the commitment of everyone involved in the event helped ensure that the participants were able to go home with lots of fresh thoughts.