Egidius Braun (27 February 1925 – 16 March 2022) was a German sports administrator who served as the eighth 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) from 1992 to 2001. Subsequently, he was appointed Honorary President. That same year, Braun founded the "DFB Foundation Egidius Braun", which takes care of distressed youth. Furthermore, the "Egidius-Braun Award" is awarded by the

WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalli ...

. In 1985, he was awarded the Grand Cross with Star and Sash of the

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

Life

Braun was born in

Breinig Stolberg (, Ripuarian: ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has a long history as an industrial town and belongs to the district Aachen and the lower district court of Eschweiler. Geography Stolberg is located approximately 5&n ...

. At the age of 13, he was playing for SV Breinig. After

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

in 1943 in

Alsdorf Alsdorf () is a municipality in the district of Aachen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Until the 21st century Alsdorf was a mining area, but now many service companies have established themselves in Alsdorf. Alsdorf has an indoor arena, a ...

, he became a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was taken

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

, from which he was released in 1946. After returning, Braun studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and founded the company "Kartoffel-Braun" (Braun Potatoes). In addition he played football in the first team of SV Breinig. From 19 August 1956 to 20 February 1959, he was chairman of the club. On 4 August 1973, Braun was elected 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 ...

and a member of the DFB Advisory Board. On 25 August of the same year he became 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'' ...

. From 1983 to 1987, Braun was a member of the board of

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

. On his 60th birthday, 27 February 1985, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st class. He received the Federal Cross of Merit with Star in 1997. For his services to the country 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 ...

he was honored with the Order of Merit of the country in 1995. From 1977 to 1992 he was treasurer of the DFB. On 24 October 1992, Braun was elected the eighth president of the DFB. That same year he also became a member of the board for the

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

. Braun remained DFB president until 28 April 2001. During the World Cup 1986 in Mexico, Braun visited with some international players, a Mexican orphanage and founded, in the wake of misery, Mexico Help of the Egidius Braun Foundation. Also due to his charitable commitment, Braun received many sympathies within the

DFB DFB may refer to: Music * Dem Franchize Boyz, an Atlanta hip hop group * Dysfunctional Family BBQ, a New York festival Sport * DFB-Pokal, a football cup competition in Germany Organisations * Furka Steam Railway (), Switzerland * German Footbal ...

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

and from the whole environment of German football. Nonetheless, he was not spared of problematic situations. After the Germany national team was defeated at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

in the United States, Braun had to justify his solidarity with criticized German national coach

Berti Vogts Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts (; born 30 December 1946) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga his whole professional club career and won the FIFA World Cup wi ...

. The "Bild" newspaper urged Vogts to resign. Two years later, national coach Vogts, won the European Championship. Braun was married; the couple had two sons. He was a hunter and nature lover. The supporter of Alemannia lived in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

. On 16 October 2006, he suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. He died in Aachen on 16 March 2022, at the age of 97.

Activities in UEFA

* 1980 to 2000 member of the UEFA European Championship Organizing Committee (from 24 June 1992 Chairman) * 1988 to 2000 member of the UEFA Executive Committee * 1992 to 2000 vice-president of UEFA * 1995 to 1996 Acting treasurer of UEFA * 1996 to 2000 UEFA Treasurer

References

External links

Egidius Braun
at dfb.de *
DFB-Stiftung Egidius Braun

Fußball-Verband Mittelrhein e.V.

Biografie
Homepage of SV Breinig {{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Egidius 1925 births 2022 deaths Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg German football chairmen and investors German prisoners of war in World War II People from Stolberg (Rhineland)