The step before the first step: What do I have to do before the sports club is founded?
Before founding the company, you must ensure that there are enough founding members. This requires at least 7 people. This is a manageable number and is usually done very quickly. However, it is recommended that there are more than 7 members when the association is founded. The reason: You have to agree on a club purpose, i.e. one or more sports that the sports club offers. And this club purpose should result in a business model in order to be economically viable. If you are starting from scratch, it certainly makes sense to be a one-division sports club. If certain departments already exist or existed, a multi-divisional sports club makes more sense. The purpose of the club is the crucial point around which everything in the sports club revolves. A decisive issue when founding a new club could be the financing of training equipment. In a darts club, this can be solved quickly - in handball or gymnastics, it can be much more complicated.
Rules for founding a sports club
Firstly, the newly founded sports club needs a name. The club name must not be deceptive or misleading for the members in terms of type, size, purpose or age. The football club must therefore not be called FC Musterstadt 1889 if it has just been founded. The geographical components must also be appropriate.
The purpose of the association is set out in the articles of association. Sample statutes can be found on the internet or on the websites of sports associations. However, the model statutes have nothing to do with your individual club. You should therefore not adopt the statutes in full. This is because the statutes are the basis for the examination of non-profit status. The statutes regulate fees, joining and leaving, contributions and much more.
Who runs the club? The distribution of positions in the sports club
The articles of association allow a certain amount of freedom when it comes to the distribution of positions in the sports club, because you decide for yourselves how the club is organised for the future. Only one person is stipulated, who must be entered in the register of associations. What the position is called and how many people there are is up to you. You are free to decide the number and names of the positions.
Tip: Make sure there is an odd number of board positions, as this ensures that votes always have a majority. An even number can lead to a tie and decisions are unnecessarily protracted.
The inaugural meeting - now the sports club is founded
First and foremost, the draft articles of association must be sent to all founding members of the sports club in advance. This is now also permitted digitally. Ideally, this should be done four weeks in advance so that everyone can be present at the founding meeting and be elected.
The inaugural meeting is similar to an annual general meeting. A secretary is therefore required to draw up the founding minutes. It is essential to record how many members are present. The items on the agenda must also be recorded. When a sports club is founded, it makes sense to prepare minutes in advance. Because it is clear why the meeting is being held, only individual points need to be added. This makes the work much more efficient.
Finally, the election of the Board of Directors should not be missed, where the positions in a newly founded organisation should ideally have been determined in advance. The membership fees can also be discussed afterwards. Once all the processes described have been completed, all founding members must sign the minutes.
Costs for founding an association: What happens after the founding meeting?
After the foundation, the real work begins. The next step is to press ahead with the entry in the register of associations to finalise the foundation. You must follow the following steps:
- The articles of association and the founding protocol must be submitted to the notary.
- The notary reports the entry to the register of associations and the relevant local court.
- The process must be carried out at a notary's office.
- The costs are manageable at around 250 euros.
- Future amendments to the articles of association must also be carried out by a notary and cost approx. 80 euros.
After applying for registration, you have to wait. Ideally, you should leave the as yet unregistered association in abeyance for four to six weeks. The reason: The association is not yet registered and is therefore not authorised to do business - liability problems could arise, which would be a huge disaster for the association. In the meantime, however, you can apply for non-profit status at the relevant municipal office. You will need the following documents for this:
- Application for exemption from corporation tax
- Articles of Association
- Minutes of the inaugural meeting
- Election protocol
- Extract from the register of associations (notarised certification of the application)
- Contribution regulations
- Activity report
In most cases, the tax office exempts the non-profit sports club from the registration fees. You can save 80 euros here. The tax office will review the non-profit status every three years. Ideally, you should have the articles of association checked by the tax office before the club is founded.
Football
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Handball
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Running
Cycling
Darts
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Basketball
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Volleyball
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eSports
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