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German and European football are mourning the death at the age of 97 of a superb football administrator, whose innate social conscience was renowned at home and abroad.
Egidius Braun was DFB president from 1992 to 2001. He was a UEFA vice-president from 1992 to 2000 and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee from 1988 to 2000, and also served as UEFA treasurer (1996-2000) and chairman of several key UEFA committees.
A tireless servant to football, and blessed with a profound social conscience, he was made an honorary member of UEFA in 2000, and was awarded the UEFA Order of Merit in Diamond – reserved for people who have assumed the highest functions in football, or who have served the game with particular distinction – in 2004.
Alongside his many different roles in football, one of his major accomplishments was the establishment of the Egidius Braun Foundation. Guided by Braun’s life motto “Football – more than just a 1-0”, the DFB-affiliated foundation has helped to improve countless lives worldwide.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Egidius Braun,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin and General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis in offering their condolences to the DFB, the Egidius Braun Foundation, family and friends.
“A great personality – a special person”
“Football has lost a great personality, and the European football family is mourning a special person,” they added. “Egidius Braun was a tireless campaigner in the service of football, as well as for people, above all children and youngsters.”
“We are extremely grateful and have the highest appreciation for his extraordinary and longstanding meritorious work to promote, protect and develop European football. We will miss Egidius Braun dearly.”
‘A sad day’
With various initiatives, Egidius Braun promoted key socio-political issues and was the driving force behind the inclusion of social commitment as one of the main pillars of the DFB’s statutes.
Newly-elected DFB president Bernd Neuendorf paid tribute to Egidius Braun for his many qualities. “Today is a sad day for all footballers in Germany and Europe,” he said. “In Egidius Braun, we have lost a special person, who used the opportunities that football provides especially for those who are in need of support and devotion.”
“He was especially driven to help children and adolescents in need. Egidius Braun firmly established social engagement in the DNA and constitution of our association.”
Football passion
A passionate footballer in his youth, who studied law and philosophy, Braun became president of the Middle Rhine regional association in 1973. From 1977 until 1992, he was treasurer of the DFB, before becoming the association’s eighth president in October 1992.
During his tenure, Germany reached the final of UEFA EURO 1992 in Sweden before winning the European title in England four years later. After stepping down in 2001, he was awarded the DFB honorary presidency.
UEFA committee duties
In addition to his senior duties within UEFA, Egidius Braun served European football’s governing body in a variety of other capacities. He was chairman of the Finance Committee (1996-2000), Committee for the European Championship (1992-2000) and Committee for the European Under-21 Championship (1992-96), and was also a UEFA representative on the Consultative Committee for EU matters and member of several expert panels.
Braun received some of the highest honours for public duties in Germany and abroad. He was decorated with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on four different occasions, and also, among others, received the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle – the highest Mexican order awarded to foreign citizens – for his unstinting efforts to improve lives of socially disadvantaged people in the country.
Minute’s silence
The DFB has asked for a minute’s silence to be observed at all football matches in Germany at the weekend as a mark of gratitude and respect for, as DFB general secretary designate Heike Ullrich put it, “a great president in the history of our association – one to whom we owe our utmost appreciation.”
