Ludvig Sylow

Ludvig Sylow (6 October 1861 – 20 February 1933) was a Danish football executive, who was the fifth chairman of the Danish Football Association from 1911 to 1918. He was also a member of FIFA's founding board of directors.

Early life Ludvig Sylow was born on 6 October 1861 as the son of a mayor. After a brief stint at the Korsør Realskole, Sylow attended the Sorø Academy in 1877, where he helped to introduce football in 1878. These rules were first used in a match the following year, in 1887. Prior to this, the matches would be played with a mixture of rugby and football rules, so this translation was a big step in the development of football in Denmark.

Sylow was the chairman of KB twice, first in 1887, but his stint only lasted a year, and then he was elected chairman again in 1901 and this time he sat in the post for five years. In 1904, Sylow was the Danish representative in the assembly that founded the world organization Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), where he was elected the assistant of FIFA's first-ever General Secretary Louis Muhlinghaus.

In 1911 he ran for the presidential election in the Danish Football Union (DBU) and won, replacing Albert Albertsen as chairman of the country's football association, sat in the post until 1918, and was replaced by Louis Østrup. Sylow bequeathed all his earthly possessions to KB. In 1914 was appointed Knight of the Dannebrog.

Death Sylow died in Vejle on 20 February 1933, at the age of 71.