Mayer-Vorfelder dies

"We have lost one of the most influential figures in the history of German football."

The words of now DFB (German FA) president Wolfgang Niersbach on the news of the death of Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, aged 82. The former club president of VfB Stuttgart passed away in his hometown of Stuttgart, his family announced on Tuesday.

From 1975 to 2000 Mayer-Vorfelder, who was often referred to as "MV," was the club president of Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. After his quarter of a century working at the top of the The Reds, he became president of the DFB and worked from 2001 to 2006, having been joined by Theo Zwanziger for his final two years of work before his retirement.

Mayer-Vorfelder was also for many years a member of the European Football Union (UEFA) and an executive of FIFA. Current FIFA president Joseph Blatter, tweeted the above message, mourning Mayer-Vorfelder's death. "FIFA Honorary member Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, a great, has left us. Your life's work will always be remembered."

"MV" also worked as a CDU politician for eleven years, starting as a minister of Badem-Württemburg in 1980. He then moved to the finance division, which he headed for seven years until 1998. He is survived by his wife Margit and their four children.

"I've known him for all these years as an always straight, resolute and competent person," said Wolfgang Niersbach. "He worked with great dedication to the sport and always met the needs and views of the players under him. His ideas and commitment to football have given important impulses from which we still benefit today."

apc/jil (SID, dpa)