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Developing football in Germany

As well as looking to add to Germany’s proud record of on-field successes, the DFB is aiming to take football forward across a variety of areas and guarantee the game’s future good health.

Overview

Strategic goals

  • Achieving the highest international level in sport.
  • Winning international titles in men’s, women’s and youth tournaments.
  • Being a relevant and sustainable factor in a modern society.

DFB challenges

  • Securing and protecting the relationship between amateur and professional football.
  • Developing grassroots football and securing the game’s future by attracting young players.
  • Meeting present and future social responsibility challenges.

A total of 7,131,936 people are currently registered in the DFB’s 21 regional associations – 41,829 more than in the previous year. The increase in the number of members is due to growth in the senior sector and among women.

DFB help to football/society during the pandemic

Key initiatives: the medical-hygienic concept Taskforce Sports Medicine/Special Game Operation; a Back on the Pitch guide, and a concept for the return of spectators. The association's latest initiative was to start a petition for amateur sports with the slogan “Draußen muss drin sein” (Outside has to be Onside) together with the German Olympic Sports Confederation.

Legacy of hosting EURO matches in Munich

The EURO 2020 games were a foretaste of EURO 2024 in Germany and helped to create anticipation and enthusiasm in Germany and Europe. The tournament is intended to be the engine of football development from a sporting and socio-political point of view in Germany and beyond. The high level of attention in the run-up to the tournament offers the opportunity to develop new target groups for active sport, as well as for functions in football. UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany will serve as an advertisement to strengthen the foundations of football. This also enables the social potential of football to develop in a more targeted manner.

UEFA support

 HatTrick funding is helping the DFB's progress in many ways, mainly in sporting, infrastructural and educational areas. The promotion of women's football, one of the central concerns of the UEFA's HatTrick programme, is also one of the association's main goals.

New DFB headquarters and academy

In March 2014, the DFB approved the construction of the new DFB HQ and academy in Frankfurt am Main. This location was chosen for several reasons: central location, optimum transport connections and proximity to the current DFB headquarters.

With the construction of the new DFB headquarters and academy, the DFB wishes to take a major step towards the further development of top-level football in Germany.

The building will comprise the DFB headquarters and the academy (training pitches, locker rooms, physio and medical rooms, fitness facilities/gym/weight room, football hall, multi-purpose and futsal hall, and 33 double rooms for accommodation of athletes or other course participants, e. g. referees, coaches).

UEFA Foundation for Children in Germany

Set up in 2015, the UEFA foundation uses football as a vehicle to help improve children’s lives by supporting hundreds of campaigns and projects across Europe and around the world.

Bellevue di Monaco

An intercultural rooftop sports court in the heart of Munich. Its purpose includes promoting the campaign against discrimination, activities for refugees and access to sport.

Hawar help e.V. – SCORING GIRLS

Using football as a springboard for the integration and empowerment of disadvantaged and refugee girls in Germany. The project fosters healthy personal and social development by nurturing the girls’ self-confidence, intercultural awareness, and sense of independence and responsibility towards their teammates – skills that are essential in life and in becoming a responsible citizen.

European Football for Development Network (EFDN) – Welcome through football

Participation in safe and structured activities is vital for the development of young migrants and refugees. Almost all the countries participating in the project have high numbers of refugees concentrated in the inner cities. These young refugees are mostly excluded from society, and participation in sport can be a first step towards social integration.

The project activities are organised into three stages:

1. Socialisation to sports – different football activities are offered for young refugees of both sexes, taking into account any special needs, such as language skills or trauma.

2. Socialisation in sports – the participants work on team structure and are given more responsibility. Participants also have the opportunity to engage in activities outside the sports training sessions.

3. Socialisation through sports – participants focus on the skills they have acquired, with a view to qualifying for further education in and outside of sports.

Timeline

Association history

1900 The German Football Association (DFB) is founded in Leipzig. 1904 The DFB joins FIFA. 1954 The DFB becomes a UEFA member. 1963 The Federal League or Bundesliga, German football's highest club category, is founded, heralding the introduction of professionalism. 1974 West Germany hosts the FIFA World Cup. 1982 The DFB sets up a women’s national team. 1988 The European Championship final round is staged in West Germany. 1990 The DFB merges with the German Football Association (DFV) of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The DFV had been an independent UEFA member since 1954, with its finest hour being the Olympic gold won in Montreal in 1976 under coach Georg Buschner. The reunification of footballers from east and west takes place in Leipzig, cradle of the DFB. 1990 The women’s Bundesliga is founded. 2000 A league association (Deutsche Fussball-Liga or DFL) is established. For the first time in 100 years of DFB history, professional football has its own independent organisational structure under the DFB umbrella. 2006 The FIFA World Cup is held in Germany. 2018 Germany is chosen as the host of UEFA EURO 2024. 2021 Munich hosts four matches at UEFA EURO 2020. Present day

 

National team history

1954 West Germany win the FIFA World Cup in Switzerland. 1972 A first European Championship title for West Germany in Belgium. 1974 On home soil, West Germany pick up their second World Cup trophy. 1980 West Germany capture the European title in Italy. 1982 West Germany's women's national team play their first match, against Switzerland. 1990 Germany clinch another World Cup crown in Italy. 1996 Germany win EURO '96 in England. 2003 Germany's women's national team win the FIFA Women’s World Cup. 2007 The women's team defend their World Cup title. 2013 The most recent of eight European Championship trophies for the senior women's team, the others coming in 1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009. 2014 Another World Cup triumph for the men's team in Brazil. 2016 Olympic gold for the women's national team. 2022 Germany reach another Women's EURO final, but are beaten by hosts England after extra-time. Present day

President

Bernd Neuendorf

Nationality: German
Date of birth: 6 July 1961
Association president since: 2022

DFB president Bernd Neuendorf
DFB president Bernd NeuendorfThomas Boecker/DFB

General secretary

Heike Ullrich

Nationality: German
Date of birth: 16 September 1969
Association general secretary since: 2022

DFB general secretary Heike Ullrich
DFB general secretary Heike Ullrich Thomas Boecker/DFB

German Football Association website