FRANKFURT: Bernd Neuendorf, former spokesman for the German Social Democratic Party and State Secretary for North Rhine-Westphalia, is the new president of the troubled German football federation.

Neuendorf succeeds Fritz Keller, who was forced to resign in May 2021 after comparing one of his vice-presidents with a Nazi-era judge.

The 60-year-old is on a mission to restore the image of Germany’s largest sports organisation which has been mired in a series of controversies in recent years including the financial scandal surrounding the DFB’s role in staging the finals of the FIFA World Cup in 2006.

Keller’s predecessor, Reinhard Grindel, had to quit in 2019 after three controversial years including the receipts of an undeclared gift of a luxury watch and an accusation from former German international Mesut Özil of a culture of institutional racism.

Neuendorf became 14th president of the DFB on receiving 193 of the 250 votes – an overwhelming victory over Peter Peters, the former Schalke chief financial officer who had the support of most of the Bundesliga clubs. Peters obtained 50 votes with six abstentions and one vote invalid.

Neuendorf grew up in the Düren district, later studied in Bonn and Oxford and worked as a journalist before entering party politics at the start of the 2000s.

He served first as spokesman for the SPD under the then Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and later as State Secretary in North Rhine-Westphalia. In 2019 he became president of the Mittelrhein FA.

Neuendorf told the DFB congress: “Football must be the focus again. People are tired of only hearing about power struggles, quarrels and raids in connection with the DFB. Football must take on its social and political responsibility again.”

Ronny Zimmermann will be first vice-president alongside DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke. Former women’s national player Celia Sasic was elected vice-president for quality and diversity.

Stephan Grunwald was unanimously elected as the new treasurer. The 37-year-old takes over from Stephan Osnabrugge, who had not stood for re-election. Grunwald previously worked as head of the auditors of the North German FA and before that a finance vice-president at the Schleswig-Holstein association.

One surprise was that Rainer Koch, controversial former vice-president, was voted off the board altogether.

In Italy . . .

Lorenzo Casini is the new president of Serie A despite lacking the support of Juventus, Internazionale and AC Milan. Casini succeeds Paolo Dal Pino who quit on moving his family home to California.

The big three are thought to have preferred Andrea Adobi, former president of Serie B.

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