football
The search for a new president of the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) ended surprisingly quickly. The election committee of the association agreed on Friday in Vienna at its first meeting with two abstentions on Klaus Mitterdorfer as the future boss. The current President of the Carinthian regional association will be officially enthroned at the Federal General Assembly, the date of which will be set “soon” according to the ÖFB broadcast.
Until then, Johann Gartner will continue to manage the business on an interim basis. The President of Lower Austria has been at the helm since Gerhard Milletich resigned on January 31. The 57-year-old from Mitterdorf, deputy director of the Carinthian Medical Association, had already expressed his interest in the volunteer job in the past few days. The entrepreneur and Vienna Vice-President Roland Schmid and, most recently, WSG-Tyrol President Diana Langes were traded as other candidates.
“For me it is important that there is such broad agreement. We have many challenges ahead of us at the top level and at grassroots level, and these must be tackled together and mastered for the sake of football. I will devote myself to this challenge with all my might and invite everyone involved to walk this path with me,” said Mitterdorfer in a first statement in an ÖFB broadcast.
Wolfgang Bartosch, chairman of the election committee, explained: “This quick decision with broad support is a sign of unity. The Presidency has shown that it will be completely united in the future.”