Shortly before the start of the training camp of the German national women’s national team, the German Football Association (DFB) extended the contract of the sports director: Nia Künzer now remains until 2029.
The good mood was striking that Nia Künzer had also brought to the Europa-Park in Rust last week. When announcing the final EM squad, the sports director pressed their confidence in a replica Swiss mountain village on the sun-over-flooded podium that the German footballers will play a successful tournament in Switzerland.
It fits well that the 45-year-old even sees her future in the long term at the German Football Association (DFB). The association and its sports director agreed on Wednesday to an early extension of the contract until 2029. Supervisory Board and General Meeting of DFB GmbH & Co. KG unanimously made the decision. This personnel should ensure further tailwind before the training camp of the DFB women in Herzogenaurach starting on Thursday.
Clarity before the euro
“By reaching the final Four of the Nations League 2024 and 2025 as well as the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris, we were able to celebrate first successes. We have other big goals and still a few things on our agenda – I feel a great conviction within the DFB to implement this agenda together”said Künzer. “It was also important to me that there was clarity before our euro in Switzerland so that we can start our tournament with a full focus.”
The 34-time national player, who won championship and trophy and three times the European Cup, but also suffered four cruciate ligament tears in her career with the 1st FFC Frankfurt, had spoken of the DFB women last week “With the target picture title” would compete. So far, Germany has become European champion eight times – last time in 2013 under Silvia Neid.
Künzer as a world champion of 2003, who secured a place in the history books with the Golden Goal, wants to shape a successful era. In the past year and a half, new impulses have been set and now wants to “High demands, especially for the women’s national team as an important factor in overall development, meet”.
Great praise from DFB president
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf praise Künzer in the press release as a profit for the DFB: “In her role as sports director, she has set important course for further development in this area highly prioritized for the DFB since she took office with her clear plan, her football expertise, persistence and foresight as well as her leadership skills. After the sports director Rudi Völler, bound until 2028, the management question has also been clarified in the long term for women.
Former ARD expert Künzer had started her post as sports director at the DFB in January 2024. In the future, she will be responsible for the women’s national team and the female selection teams U 19, U 20 and U 23, as the DFB announced. This expanded their area of responsibility to the newly installed U 23 and the U 19 team.
The mother of two is therefore responsible for the entire immediate transition area to the women’s national team. In addition, it will bundle tasks of further development, control and coordination of performance-oriented women and girls football.
For the time being, no return to the old job
When Künzer introduced herself to her new job, she had deliberately left open whether she might be returning to her former profession with high responsibility: she had previously headed an almost 40-member team at the Gießen regional council in the integration, social care and volunteering department.
The DFB estimates the prudent art of Künzers, which appears more cautiously. National announcements are not a license plate of their actions, but internally it is not considered to be a conflict shy. This time, the sports director was able to avoid a traffic dispute like before the 2023 World Cup with FC Bayern, national coach Christian Wück is satisfied with a comparatively short preparation.
After a short interruption, the DFB-Tross will travel directly to the base camp to Zurich on June 30th. Künzer goes to the tournament with confidence, as made clear under the Swiss bobsleigh: “We have put together a great, exciting and high -quality squad. A team that is fun and can achieve a lot.”