UEFA women's football role for Nadine Kessler

Former Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler has joined UEFA's team as a women's football advisor.

The 2014 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year and UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe retired last year due to injury, and her main roles will include helping to oversee the development of women's football and having an input in the growth of women's competitions.

"The women's game is developing at a fast pace, and opportunities are opening now that we could not have dreamed about when I was just starting my career," Kessler said.

"I want to do everything I can to try and take our top competitions like the UEFA Women's EURO and the UEFA Women's Champions League to even greater heights, while also helping to further develop the women's game in all corners of Europe."

Kessler came to prominence with Germany's youth teams and scored prolifically for first club Saarbrücken, earning two promotions either side of a run to the 2008 German Cup final. Moving to Turbine Potsdam, Kessler aided them to the UEFA Women's Champions League title in her first season – 2009/10 – as well as two league championships. She then switched to Wolfsburg and won German and European titles in both 2013 and 2014, forming a partnership with Lena Goessling that was also at the heart of Germany's UEFA Women's EURO 2013 triumph.

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has been vocal in his backing for the female game. It was a key part of his pre-election manifesto, and now he has introduced a women's football unit at UEFA.

"I feel there is huge potential for us to develop and improve this side of the game," he said. "I am also looking at ways of how we can improve the UEFA Women's Champions League, to give it even more attention than it gets today."