Satisfaction ratings could hardly be higher, so it should come as no surprise that Dr. Theo Zwanziger, the reigning President of the German Football Association (DFB), faces no challengers today and Friday. The re-election of Zwanziger, the tenth President in the 107-year history of the DFB, is one topic on the long agenda for the Association’s biennial assembly, which will be held today and Friday in Mainz. Roughly 400 participants are expected to attend the DFB Congress, including 258 delegates from the various regional associations, equipped with voting rights.
Horst R. Schmidt, who had led the DFB administration for the last 15 years, will resign from office as General Secretary, but is expected to be named the new treasurer. Just as Zwanziger, Horst R. Schmidt faces no challengers, with the current treasurer Heinrich Schmidhuber resigning. Schmidhuber has reached the age limit for honorary work.
Besides Zwanziger and Schmidt, these candidates are nominated for the DFB Steering Committee: Hermann Korfmacher (Senior Vice-President Amateur Football), Dr. Hans-Georg Moldenhauer (Vice-President Qualifications), Rolf Hocke (Vice-President Prevention, Integration), Dr. Hans-Dieter Drewitz (Vice-President Youth), Dr. Rainer Koch (Vice-President Legal Issues), Hannelore Ratzeburg (Vice-President Women’s Football) and Karl Rothmund (Vice-President Charity and Social Issues).
Four representatives of the DFL, the governing body of the Bundesliga, will join the new Steering Committee. Wolfgang Niersbach has been nominated as Horst R. Schmidt’s successor. The former DFB Director will complete the line-up for the new Steering Committee or Presidium.
While the two-days in Mainz are a regular convention, the Presidium also has the option to call an extraordinary Congress. This was the case in Frankfurt on September 8, 2006, when Theo Zwanziger took over as the single holder of the office of DFB President.
The DFB Congress also passes resolutions concerning statutes and regulations. Decisions are binding on a simple majority of valid votes cast. For the 39th regular assembly of the DFB Congress, 98 resolutions have been forwarded to be discussed and voted upon.
