After Donata Hops
New interim DFL dual leadership is set: Axel Hellmann and Oliver Leki take over
One day after the separation from Donata Hopfen, the DFL presented the new leadership. Oliver Leki (pictured), Chief Financial Officer of SC Freiburg, and Axel Hellmann, Board Spokesman of Eintracht Frankfurt, will take over the management together until the summer of 2023
© Tom Weller / DPA
The German Football League will be led interim by Eintracht Frankfurt’s Axel Hellmann and Oliver Leki from SC Freiburg. The duo will take over the tasks of the previous managing director Donata Hopfen until the new season, as the DFL announced on Thursday.
The German Football League is temporarily led by Axel Hellmann and Oliver Leki. The board spokesman of Eintracht Frankfurt and the CFO of SC Freiburg will take over the tasks of the previous managing director Donata Hopfen, whose contract was terminated on Wednesday, until June 30, 2023. “We have a few processes running that are implemented relatively quickly. We have to be able to act immediately,” said Chairman of the Supervisory Board Hans-Joachim Watzke on Thursday.
Interim solution gives DFL time
The 51-year-old Hellmann was first elected to the DFL Executive Committee in August. The 49-year-old Leki has been on the DFL Supervisory Board since 2019. Both have recommended themselves for the vacant management position through successful work in their clubs. “In my opinion, both have the absolute ability to do that. If you see how the clubs of the two have developed, that also speaks for the work of these two,” said Watzke.
An interim solution from within the DFL’s own ranks gives the DFL the time it needs to find a new, strong leader who has a number of problems to solve. Hops could not fill this role – also because, according to their own statements, they lacked the necessary backing from the clubs. “I wish the responsible gentlemen the necessary courage and will to change, not only to be able to react to the growing challenges, but also to actively shape them,” recommended the 46-year-old as a farewell.
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The DFL justified the premature termination of the contract, which was originally valid until the end of 2024, by saying that there were “differing ideas about the further strategic direction of the company”.