New DOSB board member Bouffier against talks with AfD

DOSB interim board member Volker Bouffier is ruling out talks with parties like the AfD in the bid for more money and support for German sport. “Anyone who represents positions that are incompatible with the basic beliefs of our work and sport cannot be our partner. We are party-politically neutral, but not politically neutral,” said the former Hesse Prime Minister at a round of talks in Frankfurt am Main, emphasizing: “Extremes are not our partners.”

Bouffier will serve as board member for special tasks at the German Olympic Sports Confederation until the middle of the year, helping to anchor the interests of organized sport in the coalition agreement of the future federal government. “Sport is not the icing on the cake when we can’t think of anything else, but rather fundamental to the cohesion of society,” said the 73-year-old.

Bouffier is fighting for an Olympic bid

One of the DOSB’s central goals is to initiate an Olympic bid with the next government. Such a project could release forces and bundle initiatives, assured Bouffier. “People must be able to assume that an application will benefit the country and them,” said the former CDU top politician. After a long period of hesitation, the traffic light coalition signed a basic agreement with the DOSB for a German application in the summer.

Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Leipzig and the Rhine-Ruhr region have expressed interest in hosting the Olympics. The DOSB recently decided to start talks with the International Olympic Committee. An application concept will be voted on at the next general meeting at the end of the year.

“I want this to come from everyone. This is something we have to want together. We can’t do this casually. In such a situation, a common big goal can release forces,” said Bouffier. The success of the Summer Games in Paris last year also boosted the mood for a possible German application.

In recent years, German efforts to organize summer and winter games have failed in series. Most recently, a majority of the population voted against applications from Munich and Hamburg.