Helmut Sandrock has today resigned from his position as general secretary of the German Football Association ©Getty Images

Helmut Sandrock has today resigned from his position as general secretary of the German Football Association (DFB) as the organisation prepares for the release of a report into allegations of corruption within the nation’s successful bid for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Sandrock, who had held the role since 2012, becomes the latest official to step away from the governing body after former President Wolfgang Niersbach quit in November of last year.

Despite leaving his position as the head of the DFB, Niersbach remains a member of the FIFA Executive Committee.

Sandrock did not attend today’s FIFA Extraordinary Congress, where UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino was elected as the new head of the governing body with a 115-88 vote victory over Asian Football Confederation chief Shaikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa in the second round.

DFB officials Reinhard Grindel and Reinhard Rauball were present for the Congress.

“For the good of our football and the DFB it is necessary to make a completely new start in a credible and consequent manner, even in matters of personnel,” Sandrock said in a statement.

“It is just good style and normal to give a newly-elected president of the DFB the chance to propose a new general secretary for election.”

Grindel, currently the DFB treasurer, is the favourite to take over from Niersbach when a new President is elected on April 15.

The DFB remains embroiled in a scandal of its own following accusations made in German publication Der Spiegel in November that a slush fund of €6.7 million (£5 million/$7.6 million) was set up in order to buy votes in the 2006 World Cup race.

FIFA Executive Committee member Wolfgang Niersbach resigned from his role as DFB President back in November
FIFA Executive Committee member Wolfgang Niersbach resigned from his role as DFB President back in November ©Getty Images

Franz Beckenbauer, who captained Germany’s 1974 World Cup winning team and led the Organising Committee for the tournament 10 years ago, and Niersbach deny the claims.

Beckenbauer was this week fined and warned by FIFA’s Ethics Committee for failing to co-operate with the investigations into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid processes, won by Russia and Qatar respectively.

Niersbach’s predecessor Theo Zwanziger and the association's former general secretary Horst R. Schmidt were also allegedly implicated in the cash for votes scandal.

It was claimed that a loan had been made by former Adidas chief executive Robert Louis-Dreyfus to the Bid Committee, which did not appear on accounts, with the money then used to bribe four Asian members of FIFA's Executive Committee.

Ultimately the German bid defeated South Africa by a narrow margin of 12 votes to 11, with New Zealand's Charlie Dempsey abstaining from the second round of voting after stating there had been "intolerable pressure" prior to the ballot.

Law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are currently investigating and are due to announce their findings on March 4.