German football league taps media exec Hopfen as boss

BERLIN: The German Football League (DFL) said Saturday it had appointed media executive Donata Hopfen as its managing director from the start of 2022 to replace outgoing boss Christian Seifert.

She will be the first woman to lead the German league.

Hopfen, 45, currently heads up BCG Digital Ventures, a unit of the Boston Consulting Group, and has signed a three-year contract with DFL.

The 52-year-old Seifert had announced last year he was stepping down but will now be leaving six months before his tenure formally runs out in agreement with the DFL, which he has led since 2005.

Supervisory board chairman Peter Peters said Hopfen had the right experience in media and digitalisation.

“In a time of change, she has all the qualities and the assertiveness to lead the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 into an ongoing successful future for the clubs,” he said in a statement.

Hopfen said the DFL’s global reputation “must be maintained against the backdrop of technological, societal and media changes relating to football - while at the same time moving forward in an innovative way”.