Germany/DFL: resignation of CEO Donata Hopfen due to "differences of opinion on strategic direction"

"The supervisory board of DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH and Donata Hopfen, chair of the management board (and CEO), have agreed to terminate the employment relationship by mutual agreement," announced the German League on 07/12/2022. "This decision is motivated by differences of opinion on the future strategic direction of the DFL."

Donata Hopfen, who will officially leave her post at the end of December 2022, had been appointed head of the German professional football league on 14/08/2021, before taking office on 01/01/2022 for a term that ran until 31/12/2024. According to the German media, a duo formed by Axel Hellmann (CEO of Eintracht Frankfurt) and Oliver Leki (CEO of SC Freiburg), both members of the DFL executive committee, could take over the interim leadership until Donata Hopfen's successor is recruited.

"We have achieved a lot and initiated a lot in the last few months. We have developed a sustainable strategy for the future of German professional football, initiated major cooperations such as the one with the NFL and closed important gaps in marketing. The NFT deal for…