Vice-President Uwe Talke (Neuss) has been a member of the Executive Board since 1997 and Josef Andres (Mannheim) has been a member of the Executive Board of the AFVD since 1998. Both are currently still in the process of successfully completing projects in order to facilitate their successors the start of the work of the Executive Committee.
As Vice President, Uwe Talke is involved in the institutionalization of the Association of Non-Olympic Associations in Germany (NOV), which will support the promotion of non-Olympic sports after the completion of the founding process. Josef Andres expands the framework training guidelines of the AFVD with the Flag Football division. This is the basis for the German Confederation of Olympic Sports (DOSB) to recognize the training courses C, B and A for coaches, for the football variant which is part of the program at the World Games and possibly also at the Olympics in the future.
The two projects are examples of the focus of the two vice presidents’ successful work over more than two decades. Uwe Talke was the main responsible for the relations of the AFVD with external partners, be they in the DOB, politicians or other national associations, when it came to the distribution of tasks in the Presidium. To a certain extent, this also applied to the inner area of the AFVD: Clubs from the professional leagues have always found special attention to their interests with Uwe Talke.
The former president of the Düsseldorf Panthers (1994 to 1996) was initially one of the leading figures in the then newly formed Bundesliga committee and was then elected to the executive committee due to his experience in club management. There, together with other at the time successful club leaders, he first developed a viable concept for the restoration of the men’s national team, which subsequently became the strongest on the continent within a few years, including the gold medal at the World Games in Duisburg.
Talke also organized European club competitions as tournament director for the then European Association from 2000 to 2013. At the top, 50 teams were active in five competitions of different levels a year. Virtually all the teams that are currently the best players in the various European leagues have started their international gaming operations in competitions organized by Uwe Talke as tournament director. At the same time, he made it possible for German cheerleaders to take part in the new world championships, which were held on Japanese initiative, from the very beginning.
For the past 15 years, Talke has represented the AFVD at the DOB and has represented Football Germany in dealings with the national sports association and government agencies. Among other things, this led to the initiative of redefining the collaboration of representatives of non-Olympic sports in the NOV association.
As with Uwe Talke, cooperation with the DOB was also an important element for Josef Andres. Andres, an early player with the Mannheim Redskins from 1979 to 1985 and the Badener Greifs in Karlsruhe from 1986 to 1990, had also worked as a coach for the Mannheim Redskins from 1991 and later for Longhorn Weinheim. From 1992 he was vice president for finance and from 2001 to 2010 vice president for competitive sports in the state association of Baden-Württemberg and since 1998 he has been vice president of the federal association.
His goal was also the training of coaches and referees. The first step was to adapt the training guidelines to the specifications of the DOB (then DSB). This was the only way football coaches could obtain coaching licenses recognized by the Federal Association of German Sports. This was the basis for licensed coaching clubs being able to obtain public funding for their activities. When these foundations were laid, the AFVD began its large-scale training offensive for coaches (and referees), so that DOB licensed coaches are now active in virtually every club.
The quality of the work performed by these on-site coaches is reflected in the steadily increasing membership of football clubs in Germany. And they themselves can count on a course system that Josef Andres has established within the association. Thanks to Josef Andres, coaches all over Germany regularly deepen their knowledge in different performance levels, exchange ideas and ensure a constant increase in the sporting level in German football.
And in a fair and healthy way, because just like for Josef Andres, a strict anti-doping policy is also essential for qualified coaches. Josef Andres laid the foundation for this.
The AFVD and all of Football Germany would like to thank Uwe Talke and Josef Andres for their many years of successful work and hope they enjoy their ‘football retreat’ but will continue to put their experience at the service of our sport in other ways !
