For the fifth time, the German Football Ambassador awarded German coaches and players for extraordinary commitment and dedication to their work abroad. During the jubilee event in the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, Horst Kriete (Category “Coach”), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Category “Player”) and Miroslav Klose (Honorary Award) were awarded by the organization. Founder Roland Bischof: “We gladly honor German football personalities for the fifth time. Football is a great link and can strengthen intercommunication between different cultures.”
In the main award category „Coach“ the jury nominated Bernd Storck, Michael Krüger and Horst Kriete. The nomination itself is already an honoring to the extraordinary commitment of these German coaches. Laudator and chairwoman of the Bundestag sports committee Dagmar Freitag declared this year’s winner Horst Kriete. Aid worker and football coach Kriete worked in over 30 countries, influenced football especially in South Africa and China.
Bastian Schweinsteiger received the public award in category „Player“ by surpassing 10 further nominees in an online-voting. The 32-year-old currently plays for Chicago Fire and therefore could not personally attend the award ceremony. Nevertheless, the former national team captain thanked his fans via a video message. „Football reflects a feeling of solidarity. Football is a sport of one language: as a team, we are strong. I am very proud to represent this positive mindset to football in different countries all over the globe.“ Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Federal Foreign Minister Gabriel presented Miroslav Klose with an honorary award for his great sporting successes and values which he achieved during his professional career. Fair Play und sincerity were always self-evident for the World Cup all-time top scorer as laudatory Sigmar Gabriel described him.
Finally, Jury-Chairman und publisher of the kicker sports magazine, Rainer Holzschuh, thanked Uwe Seeler for his 5 years as jury member of the German Football Ambassador and declared him as 1st member of the newly founded Hall of Fame. “It was a great time working as jury-member, as I had fascinating insights into football in different countries. It is also a great Honor for me to be the first member organizations Hall of Fame.“
The nominees and award winners will donate their prize money to different social projects. With this year’s projects in South Africa, USA, Sudan und Hungary the German Football Ambassador could support over 20 organizations all over the world.
