German football has catching up to do, says league boss

Offenbach, Germany (dpa) – German football must be careful of not being left behind by international competitors, the German Football League (DFL) president said on Tuesday,

The developments of the last few years, particular in youth team work, means German football needs to “reposition” itself, Christian Seifert said.

“We have, no ifs or buts, a lot of catching up to do when it comes to training our top young talent,” Seifert said at a New Year’s reception by the DFL in Offenbach.

Seifert said it was up the DFL and the national football federation DFB to work on reestablishing Germany at the top of the game in a warning which comes some 18 months after the national team’s early exit at the 2018 World Cup.

“Getting back to the best in the world is not only a sporting goal for both organizations but an economic necessity,” he said.

Professional football should not make the mistake “that we are currently making in Germany on a large number of so-called major issues: that we supposedly know a lot better, but objectively only do a few really better.”

Seifert said the DFL, representing the country’s 36 professional clubs, would strive to make clear statements on major issues such as political extremism.

The top-flight Bundesliga and second division are competitions “for people for all social classes, of all skin colours, all religions, of all ages, of all genders, of all sexual orientations,” he said.