class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 fmXrkB”>
In the summer of 2025, a change will take place at the top of the Swiss Football Association (SFV): current chairman Dominique Blanc (73) will have to resign due to his age. Who will replace him?
Recently, the ‘Tagesanzeiger’ and ‘Blue’ brought the name Bernhard Heusler (60) into play at the SFV, loosely reporting on a possible comeback of the former successful FCB president (2012-2017) on the big stage. This corresponds to the information from Blick. But why Heusler?
Blanc was the “candidate of the amateurs”
Flashback: For a long time, the association had an unwritten law according to which the three SFV chambers (amateurs, 1st division, professional football) appointed the chairman in turn. But since 2001 and the election of Ralph Zloczower, who took the throne from the legitimate amateur representative Urs Saladin, the rule is: fight the elections!
Naturally, each chamber intends to appoint the president. Also the Swiss Football League, the professional division. Your problem: it brings in far fewer votes than the amateur clubs. When Dominique Blanc was elected president in 2019, he was anything but the preferred candidate of the SFL and the 1st League. But thanks to the joint support of ‘his’ amateur chamber, Blanc got through the elections.
Since then, dissatisfaction has been growing, especially among professional clubs, with Blanc’s management style. The Roman is neither considered decisive nor a man of clear words. According to information from Blick, there was even an idea in the professional department to refuse to vote for Blanc’s re-election in the summer of 2023. This was abandoned to avoid an escalation with the amateur chamber. And because the professional department wants something from the amateurs in the summer of 2025: votes.
Everyone has no chance against Heusler?
And this is where the name Bernhard Heusler comes into play. At the SFL we know: to gain the SFV throne, you need a candidate with enormous charisma. A star so popular among officials and fans that his candidacy would be seen as a “gift to Swiss football”. Which forces all other people interested in the presidential job to withdraw their ambitions – because they have no chance. And on which the representatives of the 1st class and the amateurs would also cast their votes.
A list of possible candidates for the SFL committee has been circulating in recent months. According to information from Blick, the names of Bernhard Heusler, Matthias Hüppi and Martin Kallen are on it, among others. Hüppi is said to have already refused because he wants to remain chairman of FC St. Gallen. Kallen has been tournament director at UEFA for almost twenty years and would be ideally suited for the SFV presidency – but is virtually unknown to the public. Heusler combines both requirements: as president during the most successful phase in FCB history, he knows how to run a major football operation. And thanks to his many titles and his eloquence, Heusler enjoys a reputation as a guarantee of success.
Does Heusler give Swiss football more weight again?
Heusler has another advantage: he has good connections in European football and, for example, has a close relationship with former Bayern boss Karl-Heinz-Rummenigge. The current SFV chairman Dominique Blanc misses this network. According to insiders, Switzerland has fallen off the European football map under him.
If Heusler were to confirm his acceptance as a candidate for the SFV presidency in the coming months, he should be assured of the elections. But what are the chances that he even wants that? According to information from Blick, he is currently not ruling out running for office.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
