German football mourns Mayer-Vorfelder

Former German Football Association (DFB) president Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder has died. He was 82.

Mayer-Vorfelder worked as a politician for the Christian Democratic Union in Baden-Wurttemberg, serving as the finance minister until 1998. By then he had already carved out a career in football administration, and led Stuttgart to two Bundesliga titles in 1984 and 1992 as president.

He became head of the DFB in 2001 and spearheaded the country’s hosting of the World Cup in 2006. He also served two terms on the FIFA executive committee and was UEFA vice-president from 2007-09. 

He died in a Stuttgart hospital and is survived by his wife Margit and his four children.

DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach led the tributes on Tuesday, telling www.dfb.de: “On behalf of the DFB and also personally I would like to express my deepest condolences to his wife Margit and his entire family. 

“Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder has been an influential figure in German football. I got to know him over the years as a straight, resolute and competent person who has worked with great dedication to the sport and thereby always had the needs of players in mind.”