SRF: Rainer Maria Salzgeber gives up presenting the Swiss national team
After more than ten years, Rainer Maria Salzgeber is stepping down as host of the SRF programs covering the Swiss national team’s matches following the Nations League campaign. Paddy Kälin will take over as host alongside expert Benjamin Huggel when World Cup qualifying begins in March 2025.
The qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico marks the start of a new cycle for the Swiss national football team next year. After more than ten years, Rainer Maria Salzgeber will no longer be accompanying the team on location for SRF. As SRF writes in a communiqué, the 55-year-old from Valais has decided to hand over the moderation of the broadcasts surrounding the national team's matches after the Nations League campaign after more than ten years. In view of the World Cup, Paddy Kälin will take over this task from 2025.
Rainer Maria Salzgeber first covered a major football tournament for SRF in 1996 at the European Championships in England. He has been presenting live broadcasts at the European Championships since 2000. For the past ten years, the 55-year-old has hosted the formats surrounding the Swiss national team's matches - usually on location at the stadium or training camp, from 2018 together with national team expert Benjamin Huggel.
During this time, he became the face of the national team matches in many Swiss-German households, as SRF writes further. Salzgeber will remain with SRF as anchor of the Champions League broadcasts. He will also continue to present the "Sportpanorama" and the "Sports Awards".
Salzgeber's successor Paddy Kälin has been with SRF since 2000 and has gained a lot of experience as a sports editor and presenter over the past 24 years. At UEFA Euro 2024, the 48-year-old hosted a national team match for the first time when he temporarily took over for Rainer Maria Salzgeber in Stuttgart and Düsseldorf.
"Rainer Maria Salzgeber covered the Swiss national team's matches with charm and humor, but also with a precise and critical eye and a great deal of expertise in a highly professional manner. He deserves great praise and thanks for this. With Paddy Kälin, a worthy successor is following in his footsteps who can turn live moments - such as the recent European Athletics Championships in Rome or the Olympic Games in Paris - into something special," says Susan Schwaller, Editor-in-Chief of SRF Sport. (pd/swi)
