Kicker Report: DFL to turn to Eintracht/Freiburg administrative duo after sacking Hopfen
While great changes are afoot on the national level of German football, Kicker magazine reports that the corporation responsible for administering Germany's top two professional football leagues is preparing to install two club executives to lead the DFL on an interim basis until the conclusion of the current campaign.
| Eintracht Frankfurt head-of-marketing Axel Hellman | Sven Mandel CC-BY-SA 4.0 |
According to Dr. Vladimir Milutinovic of Germany's Kicker Magazine, the DFL will appoint Eintracht Frankfurt marketing director Axel Hellmann and SC Freiburg financial operations officer Oliver Leki as joint leaders on an interim basis until the end of the season. Both executives are members of the DFL supervisory board and generally respected in German footballing circles.
Milutinovic reports that Hellmann and Leki will be released from their respective clubs with immediate effect so as not to have any interests competing with their DFL duties. Since its inception in 2001, the DFL GmbH has had just three chief executives. Long-time German football functionary Wilfried Straub was the first to lead the corporation before Christian Seifert ran it from 2005 to 2022.
Current office-holder Donata Hopfen was in place for just 11 months. The DFL CEO typically also occupies the office of the DFB vice presidency. This tradition may naturally be cancelled in light of current events.
