DFB boss can’t understand criticism about German Olympic bid

German Football Federation president Bernd Neuendorf can’t understand the criticism surrounding a German bid for the Olympic Games.

“I don’t really understand it. When you apply to host a major football tournament, it’s never an issue in Germany,” Neuendorf said at the SpoBis sports business conference.

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When it comes to major football tournaments, such as the World Cup or the Euros, Neuendorf pointed out that there are no referendums.

“Only when it comes to the Olympics. And I don’t really understand that. I always find it inspiring to watch the Olympics, whether in Paris or elsewhere,” he said, adding that he would like to bring something like that to Germany.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) plans to decide in September which candidate it will put forward in Germany’s bid for the 2036, 2040, or 2044 Olympic Games.

Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, and the Rhine-Ruhr region, with Cologne as its core city, are aiming to become the German candidate.

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The citizens of Munich have already voted in favour of the Olympics in a referendum. A vote will be also held in in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and in Hamburg on April 19 and May 31 respectively.

Berlin, meanwhile, is not planning to host a referendum.

In recent years, German bids for the Olympics have repeatedly failed due to referendums. The last Olympic Games in Germany were held in Munich in 1972.