Bernd Johannes Neuendorf (born 6 July 1961) is a German politician, journalist and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

administrator who is currently serving as the president of the

German Football Association The German Football Association ( ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and ...

(DFB). He had previously served as the president of the

Middle Rhine Football Association The Middle Rhine Football Association (, FVM) is the umbrella organization of the football clubs in the German mid-Rhein area and covers the football districts of Aachen, Berg, Bonn, Düren, Euskirchen, Heinsberg, Cologne, Rhein-Erft-Kreis and ...

from 2019 until his election as DFB president in 2022. Before entering sports, he was the state secretary of the Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

from 2012 to 2017.

Early life

Neuendorf was born in

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

and grew up in the municipality of

Hürtgenwald Hürtgenwald ( Ripuarian: ''Hüêtschewald'') is a municipality in the district of Düren in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Eifel hills, approx. 15 km south-west of Düren. Much of the area is cov ...

. He studied

modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

after receiving his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'' from the Gymnasium am Wirteltor Düren. He played youth football for FC Grenzwacht Hürtgen, where he is still a club member, as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

until suffering a serious knee injury. After a traineeship at

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

from 1989 to 1990, he worked as an editor for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

until 1991. Between 1992 and 1999, Neuendorf was a parliamentary correspondent for various daily newspapers in Bonn. He then moved to the ''

Mitteldeutsche Zeitung The ''Mitteldeutsche Zeitung'' (; ) is a regional daily newspaper for southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Published in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle with several local versions, the paper is owned by M. DuMont Schauberg, Cologne. History and profile ...

'' in

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...

. There he was deputy

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

from 2001 to 2003.

Politics

In 2003, Neuendorf became a spokesperson for the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

party executive in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 2004, he became the head of the press and public relations department for

SPD North Rhine-Westphalia SPD Nordrhein-Westfalen is a political party in German state North Rhine-Westphalia and is, with 97,300 members, the biggest state group of Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). History Election results Landtag of North Rhine-Westpha ...

. From 2007 to October 2012, he was the state manager of the SPD in

. From October 2012 until the change of government in June 2017, he succeeded Klaus Schäfer as state secretary of the . Since 1 October 2019, Neuendorf has served as a board member of the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Sports administration

On 29 June 2019, Neuendorf was unanimously elected president of the

at the association congress, succeeding Alfred Vianden in a term lasting until 2022. Neuendorf also served a member of the DFB Executive Committee and vice-president of the

Western German Football Association The Western German Football Association (; ''WDFV'') is one of the five regional associations of the German Football Association (; ''DFB'') and covers States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Structure In 2017, the ''WDFV'' ...

. On 11 March 2022, Neuendorf ran for the presidency of the

(DFB) at the

DFB-Bundestag The DFB-Bundestag (National Conference) is the highest body of the German Football Association (, DFB). Structure The DFB-Bundestag convenes regularly every three years. The term of office for DFB presidential board and executive board is also thr ...

. He won the election with 193 of the 250 votes cast, becoming the 14th president of the DFB. He defeated

Peter Peters Peter Peters may refer to: * Peter Peters (rugby league) (born 1947), Australian rugby league player, commentator and journalist * Peter Peters (football administrator) (born 1962), German journalist and football official * Peter J. Peters (born ...

, who had formed an interim dual leadership with Rainer Koch following the resignation of Fritz Keller in May 2021. Following his election, he duly resigned from his previous post as president of the Middle Rhine Football Association.

Personal life

Neuendorf is married and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neuendorf, Bernd 1961 births Living people People from Düren German sports executives and administrators German football chairmen and investors German male journalists 20th-century German journalists German newspaper journalists German newspaper editors Reuters people Associated Press reporters Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians