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Bundesliga DFL boss Donata Hopfen has to go

DFL supervisory board member Oliver Leki strolled into the hotel with a trolley case, while committee head Hans-Joachim Watzke was still discussing with Hansi Flick at the DFB crisis summit. Almost three hours later, Watzke announced that the German Football League and Managing Director Donata Hopfen would end their collaboration at the end of the year.

According to information from the German Press Agency, Leki, who is currently employed at SC Freiburg, and Axel Hellmann from Eintracht Frankfurt are now to take over the DFL leadership as a dual leadership on an interim basis.

Multi-functionary Watzke was asked twice as a crisis manager on Wednesday. While Flick was allowed to continue after meeting Watzke and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, Hopfen was out. The DFL ended the employment relationship with the 46-year-old “by mutual consent”, as stated in a statement.

„Intensive Monate“

The reason for the separation are different ideas about the further strategic direction of the company, it said. Hopfen had only assumed the chairmanship of the committee at the beginning of the year, succeeding Christian Seifert.

Watzke was dutifully quoted in kind words in the message: “I would like to thank Donata Hopfen for her great commitment and the intensive months in which we worked together in a very trusting manner.” But the first woman at the head of a large German football association obviously had Problems with the Bundesliga managers around Watzke.

“I’m grateful for the time and the work with the clubs and my team,” Hopfen was quoted as saying in a DFL statement. “It was an intense time, I got to know and appreciate a lot of great people. I leave knowing I’ve started the right things.”

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