DFB interim president Rainer Koch defended himself against the criticism of the German Football Association and emphasized the importance of the amateurs in the crisis-ridden association.
“Unfortunately the image of the DFB in public these days is not a good one, I'm sure many of you see it that way.
I see it that way too, ”said Koch during his speech on Saturday at the Association Day of the Hessian Association in Frankfurt.
“But it is by no means the way it is popularly carried out across the board and spread in the media.
The DFB is not a restructuring case. "
The umbrella organization was "upset", said Koch. He stands "in the midst of a difficult overall situation for football in Germany". The relationship between professional and amateur football is particularly "in focus". Koch therefore called on everyone to find their way back to unity, “we have to recognize what these days are really about. These are decisive months that lie ahead of us amateur associations in the DFB ”.
The DFB had experienced several crises in the past few years. Most recently, Fritz Keller resigned as president because he had named Koch by the name of a Nazi judge. The DFB continues to struggle with internal disputes. The association will be managed temporarily until the Bundestag in March 2022 by Koch and Peter Peters, the head of the supervisory board of the German Football League (DFL), which organizes professional football. Tensions between the two are no secret.
"Amateur football can only assert itself against professional football if we act united and show solidarity, instead of dealing almost exclusively with ourselves," said Koch.
“You are doing great things in your clubs.
This great, day-to-day work, however, loses its power and strength when we argue about detailed issues in public and often with inappropriately sharpness.
The turmoil or even division of the amateur camp, trench warfare in our own ranks are poison for all of us and can have fatal consequences, especially economic disadvantages for all of us. "
Koch, who also heads the Bavarian Association, appealed to propose and elect people for election next year "who are closely connected to the interests, concerns and demands of amateur football and who know what it is about".