Does it have to be a woman?
No, if you look at the German Football Association (DFB) you would be happy if there was a leadership that justified trust in the largest umbrella organization for sport on this planet.
The more recent past alone shows in an exemplary way, hardly surprisingly, that the men's bastion was not able to save the DFB from falling.
He is lying down, shattered what once distinguished him.
So that would be a huge step forward, which should be taken for granted: the choice of a management team competent in the essential tasks.
Thinking of a woman on the way to a presidency next spring is almost imperative after all the experiences since 2006.
The men's guild screwed it up.
The German Football League (DFL) proved that things can be different under the aegis of men.
No, not on Saturday when she introduced Donata Hopfen as the successor to Christian Seifert at the top of the management board and as spokeswoman for the executive committee.
The path to becoming a soccer boss was indirectly taken in 2005 with the hiring of Christian Seifert.
That is the difference to the DFB
When the footballers realized that they needed someone who understood the business, a manager who had no barn smell, regardless of those who had swapped their shirts for suits. No doubt Seifert's term would have expired quickly had he not delivered. That is the main reason for his authority in the shark tank. And only against this background can one understand why the DFL has appointed the digital expert Donata Hopfen. You trust it to generate profits.
The special thing about this symbolic act in the male domain of football is not the choice of a woman, but her desire for this enormous challenge in these times, her fight for it. It shows that the DFL was ready to accept competence and independence, and therefore stands for the rules of the game. That is the difference to the DFB. Who of great stature will get involved in the sniper game in the umbrella organization?
After Fritz Keller withdrew from the office of President, nothing was heard of a liberating dissolution of the paralyzing forces. The youngest farce about the interim president Rainer Koch, his dispute with the women's group “Football can do more”, reinforces the impression that the struggle for assets is going on as in previous years. A rogue, who thinks that this is the next warning to the few in the country who might still be prepared to risk everything: a good job, independence, health and reputation.
Before all member organizations have understood that the DFB has to free itself from all internal relationships of dependency, if it wants to be led out of the rubble, any intrepid candidate should be urgently advised against. Whether woman or man. There is only one small hope in this situation: women who believe that the DFB can still be saved. I wish you success.