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Back to the governing bodies of Fifa and Uefa: DFB boss Bernd Neuendorf (right) and his deputy Hans-Joachim Watzke
Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa
From next year, the German Football Association is to be represented by DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and DFL Supervisory Board Chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke on the governing bodies of Fifa and Uefa.
The DFB presidium decided this unanimously, it said in a statement.
Neuendorf is proposed for the seat on the World Association Council, Watzke for the position on the Executive Committee of the European Football Union.
The announcement follows a week after corresponding media reports.
"Süddeutsche Zeitung" and ZDF had reported that Watzke and Neuendorf should move into the committees.
With the decision, Watzke in particular has finally risen to become a multifunctional and strong man in German football.
In addition to his job as DFB Vice President, the 62-year-old managing director of Borussia Dortmund is already the head of the supervisory board of the German Football League (DFL) and sits on the board of the European Club Association ECA.
Neuendorf can book the quick decisions as a success on his way to calming down the crisis-ridden association.
However, they are not entirely unproblematic: Neuendorf had actually stated before his election that he was not aiming for any international posts in order to concentrate on bringing the DFB "in calm waters".
In the SPIEGEL interview, he then said after the election that the situation had to be reassessed.
The previous representatives Peter Peters (Fifa) and Rainer Koch (Uefa) are ready to make their offices available, it said.
According to his own words, the long-standing DFB Vice President Koch offered this immediately after his election defeat in the Bundestag of the association in Bonn in March and recently made it public.
Peters and Koch were originally elected until spring 2025.
"I have great respect that Peter Peters and Rainer Koch are also taking this personal step in the international committees in the sense of realigning the DFB," explained Neuendorf.
The high-paying posts at Fifa and Uefa have always been a source of conflict in the past.
Change only at the beginning of 2023
According to the announcement, the personnel changes are to take place at the beginning of 2023 so that new elections can take place on time at the Uefa Congress 2023 in accordance with the Uefa statutes.
The DFB has already informed Fifa President Gianni Infantino and Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin in writing in order to mutually agree on the procedure, it said.
The Uefa post is not reserved for a German candidate.
However, she should have an interest in having a DFB official on the committee as a representative of the EM host 2024.
With the organization of the European Football Championship 2024 in Germany and the application for the 2027 Women's World Cup planned together with Belgium and the Netherlands, important topics are on the international agenda for the DFB, according to the DFB.
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