Donata Hopfen leaves role as DFL boss
December 8, 2022
The turnaround at the top of the German Football League (DFL) that many had hoped for will not last 12 months.
Since January 1, 2022, Donata Hopfen has led the business of the DFL and the representation of interests of the professional clubs in the first and second Bundesliga. But on Wednesday the DFL announced that Hopfen was stepping down as CEO.
Her appointment and the subsequent premature end to her contract, which was due to run until the end of 2024, have left more questions than answers: Was German football, dominated by men, not yet ready for the first woman in a top position? Or was Hopfen simply not the right person to fix the DFL's many problems?
Watzke's support fades
The shoes she filled were big. For almost 17 years, Christian Seifert had been the respected CEO at the helm of the DFL. He had developed the Bundesliga into a major international brand, boosted revenues from broadcasting rights to over a billion euros per season, and steered the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, Hopfen started with early praise. "I will back her," said Hans-Joachim Watzke at the time, who was promoted to head of the DFL supervisory board in February.
The managing director of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund is now considered the most powerful man in German soccer. Without his support, nothing seems to work at the DFL or the DFB. After Germany's embarrassing group stage exit at the World Cup in Qatar, national coach Hansi Flick had to report to DFB boss Neuendorf and his deputy Watzke on Wednesday. On the same day, Watzke presided over the DFL supervisory board meeting, at which Hopfen was replaced.
A day later, Watzke confirmed at a press conference that Axel Hellmann, CEO of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, and Oliver Leki, CFO of Freiburg, would take over as acting DFL leaders, as expected. New permanent leadership will then be appointed on July 1, 2023.
Watzke spoke in favor of a distribution of tasks in the leadership in principle: "I am a fan of the dual leadership. I advocate that we spread this over two shoulders." With "today's range of tasks" it is "no longer possible to deliver a one-man show," Watzke said, expressing "great confidence" in the new leadership. "This gives us time to find a sustainable solution."
The 63-year-old did not want to comment in detail on the reasons for Hopfen's exit at the top of the league. According to former managing director Andreas Rettig, Hopfen "never really had a real chance at the DFL. Their failure is not only due to their own mistakes, but in particular the structure and the resulting lack of support."
'Enormous balancing act'
According to reports, the clubs' support for the DFL boss had been crumbling recently. At the end of October, in a rare interview with "Kicker" magazine, Hopfen had described her first 10 months at the DFL as a "wild ride" in which she had to perform an "enormous balancing act" because of the different interests of the clubs. Asked if she felt absolutely supported, Hopfen had replied, "more is always possible."
Her proposal to follow the example of the leagues in France and Spain and sell part of the media rights to the Bundesliga to a solvent investor was met with minimal approval. The clubs no longer trusted Hopfen to help elevate their revenues, which had shrunk to their pre-pandemic levels. In the first quarter of 2024, the media rights for the Bundesliga season starting in 2025 will be put out to tender.
It is also possible that the clubs simply want a person at the helm of the DFL who has a greater external presence than Hopfen. The search for her permanent successor or successors begins here.