Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder

• DFL Ehrenangehöriger (Honorary Member)
• Former DFB President
• Former Chairman of the DFB League Committee
• Former member of the DFB Presidium

Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, born in Mannheim in 1933, became a DFL Ehrenangehöriger (Honorary Member) in 2006. In his time as President of VfB Stuttgart (1975–2000), the club won two Bundesliga titles (1984 and 1992) and the DFB-Pokal (1997). From 1986 to 2000, he chaired the League Committee of the German Football Association (DFB) and was a key figure in the independence of German professional football. In this period, the former Culture and Finance Minister of Baden-Württemberg was a member of the DFB Executive Committee, and DFB Vice President from 1992 to 2000.

The World Cup was staged in Germany during his tenure as DFB President (2001–2006), and he chaired the Supervisory Board of the local organising committee. His key decisions as DFB President included optimising the promotion of talent in German football. The network of DFB liaison offices was expanded and training was improved, while academies were made compulsory for licensed clubs. Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder became an Honorary Member of the DFB in 2007 and an Honorary Member of UEFA in 2009. Prior to that, he had been a member of the continental governing body’s Executive Committee from 2000 and its Vice President from 2007 to 2009. He also served on FIFA’s Executive Committee from 2000 to 2007. Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder passed away on 17 August 2015 aged 82.

_{Photo: Getty Images/Simon Hofmann}