Freiburg boss Keller proposed as next DFB president

The German Football Association proposed Freiburg’s Fritz Keller as their new president on Thursday (August 15) as the world’s biggest single sports association looks to end the search for a successor to Reinhard Grindel, who resigned in April. Keller, who has been chairman at Freiburg since 2010, was the only name put forward by a 

DFB

 commission in charge of finding a new head of the seven million-member association. Grindel stepped down after coming under pressure over income he received from a 

DFB

 subsidiary and a watch he had been given by Ukrainian businessman and soccer administrator Grigory Surkis. He was the third consecutive 

DFB

 president to be embroiled in a scandal after his predecessors Wolfgang Niersbach and Theo Zwanziger were indicted in Switzerland earlier this month over a payment for the 2006 World Cup. The 

DFB

 is now hoping Keller, who became a Freiburg vice president back in 1991, can again steady the ship. Small-budget club Freiburg have been known for their no-nonsense approach to the game, playing an exciting brand of football while also producing scores of talented players who have moved on to join bigger clubs. “Fritz Keller is without a doubt an unusual personality with all the qualities for the position of 

DFB

 President,” 

DFB

Vice President Rainer Koch said in a statement. “We are convinced that he is the right man for the future of the 

DFB

. Keller, an entrepreneur in the field of gastronomy, has been a member of the German football league (

DFL

) supervisory board since 2016. The 62-year-old Keller will now be proposed to the local and regional associations and before being officially nominated ahead of the September 27th election.   Script Courtesy to Reuters News