Opinion: A new DFB president isn't enough

Hats off to Bernd Neuendorf! The new head of the German Football Association (DFB) has had nothing to do with the various scandals which have rocked the organization in recent years and yet still managed to get elected as its new president.

Respect. Anyone willing to do that to themselves must be some sort of football idealist. After all, the task now facing the 60-year-old former journalist and local Rhineland civil servant is gigantic.

The image of the world's largest sporting association hasn't just taken a few knocks; its reputation has been almost systematically ruined by functionaries who put their own egos before the interests of the grassroots membership.

And regaining the trust of those 7.1 million members looks set to be Neuendorf's biggest challenge. His own personal integrity — attested to by all sides — will help him. But it won't be enough.

Less old boys' clubs, more feminism

The personnel reset will quickly fail as long as the structures remain the same.

The DFB must be more transparent, more open to fresh people and ideas. It's simply not acceptable that new candidates for the top jobs have no chance because the powerful regional associations have already picked their favorites six months in advance — as has happened here.

The old cliques belong in the bin. The threads need to be cut. The DFB has to start listening to all protagonists in German football and take their concerns seriously: the national teams, the professional leagues, the amateur game, the fans.

And most of all, the DFB needs to be more feminine. The old boys' clubs which still dominate German football are no longer fit for purpose, let alone appropriate. They represent a significant obstacle to the promotion of the women's game, which is so much more advanced abroad.

Stand up for the people's game

Finally, Neuendorf's DFB must stand up to the international governing bodies UEFA and FIFA.

The largest sports association in the world need not be intimidated by money and power obsessed football despots like FIFA president Gianni Infantino. The DFB should instead stand up for the lost values of the people's game and demand urgently necessary reforms.

But once again, none of this will be possible while the current structures and personnel remain the same.

Both at home and abroad, the DFB needs a new lease of life. A new president isn't enough.

Translated from German by Matt Ford.