Your vote counts: Elect the Kurvenrat

What is the Kurvenrat?

The Kurvenrat is an independent representative body of Bayer 04 fans. It gathers together and represents the interests of all fans in relationship to the club.

Why is there a Kurvenrat from this season?

The 2016/2017 season was not only disappointing on the field. There will also a tendency towards division within the fan groups. At the same time, there was a crisis of confidence between sections of the fans and the club management. The idea of establishing a Kurvenrat came up at fan meetings. Working committee was set up to produce the formal basis. Whatever has happened it is now time for a new start. There has never previously been the initiative of Kurvenrat from the fans at Bayer 04.

How is the Kurvenrat elected?

All season-ticket holders and all members of NK 12 aged 16 and above can elect the eleven members of the Kurvenrat. There will be an open fan meeting on 15 September that will include hustings with the candidates. The election will take place on 17 September the day of the home match against Freiburg. A voting slip can be downloaded from the kurvenrat–leverkusen.de website and completed at the stadium at the fan container or handed in at the Stadioneck bar. Voting slips will also be available on site. The elected Kurvenrat committee will determine the representatives who are entitled to speak for the group. The constitution meeting will be hailed in the last week of September. The Kurvenrat will be presented in an open fan meeting on 6 October.

What are the responsibilities of the Kurvenrat?

The main aim is to facilitate the fans and club speaking to each other rather than over each other's heads. The Kurvenrat will accept all issues fans have via the website and then discuss them. That means the fans will determine the content of the work carried out by the Kurvenrat. The Kurvenrat supports the work of the home end supporters group NK 12, von Kreativ e.V.. It is the contact point for the club and – where necessary – a mediation forum. The Kurvenrat is not part of the club structures – neither in terms of staff or finance – and worked on a voluntary basis.

All other information is available at kurvenrat-leverkusen.de. All the candidates are presented here in text and photos.