Football and development aid are parts of Horst Kriete’s life for over 35 years now. 1979 he started his international carrier in Nigeria and was responsible for the training program of the national football federation. Since then, Mr. Kriete experienced a lot and influenced football in dozens of countries.

• Football & development aid: Over 35 years of experience in over 40 countries

Johannesburg, 17th March 2017

Football and development aid are parts of Horst Kriete’s life for over 35 years now. 1979 he started his international carrier in Nigeria and was responsible for the training program of the national football federation. Since then, Mr. Kriete experienced a lot and influenced football in dozens of countries. After three years in Nigeria, Kriete worked in African, Asian and Central American regions. Thereby, it was always of the highest importance for Mr. Kriete to drive the sporting success as well as the development of the local society. On behalf of FIFA and DFB, he directed training courses for coaches and assisted in different circumstances as a technical advisor. From 2004 to 2009 Kriete worked for the Chinese Football Federation. By restructuring the Youth and Coaching Programs he supported the sporting and cultural exchange between Germany and China. The former chief instructor of DFB also worked for over 6 years in South Africa within different coaching courses and still has close contact to his former colleagues. “My stay in South Africa was supported greatly by the South African Football Association (SAFA), so that my family could feel at home. The close relationship to SAFA led to a fair and trusting cooperation.”

In course of the nomination process, Horst Kriete, Roland Bischof (founder of the initiative) and the German TV-Channel Deutsche Welle decided to travel to South Africa to look at the former domain of the nominee. “I feel honored and very pleased about the recognition of my extensive work abroad. This award is dedicated to all my colleagues and amazing partners, that supported me all over the globe. ” Together with representatives of SAFA and the German Embassy in South Africa, the nomination certificate has been handed over to Mr. Kriete in Pretoria. The prize money dedicated to the nominee will be used to support the “Youth Development through Football” Program.

Deutsche Welle will broadcast a special about all three nominees on the 26th of March. Thereby, deep insights of work and life of the nominees will be shown. Three German coaches have been nominated for the award due to their extraordinary achievements in intercultural exchange and their contribution to a positive standing of Germany in the world. Besides Horst Kriete, Bernd Storck and Michael Krüger have also been nominated for the award. Bernd Storck has worked as a football coach in Serbia, Kazakhstan and Greece. Currently, he is coaching the Hungarian national team and enjoyed a successful EURO 2016 in France. Michael Krüger showed great commitment in Africa and won several major titles among others in Sudan and Egypt. The winner in the category “coach” will be announced on the 16th of May 2017 in the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.