Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel will continue to form the double leadership of the German Football League (DFL).
The supervisory board of the umbrella organization of German professional football has agreed with the two managing directors to extend the contract by the end of 2029. This decision was unanimously caught in a meeting of the committee on Monday (28.04.2025), the DFL said. The duo has been in office since summer 2023.
Lenz (39) and Merkel (39) are “With their expertise, their many years of experience in football, their high identification with the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga as well as their union approach, the ideal cast to lead the DFL into a successful future”explained supervisory board chief Hans-Joachim Watzke the unanimous decision of the committee.
Watzke praises leadership duo
Both managing directors would have taken over the DFL in challenging times and have managed since then. “The strong national media rights degree dominates the perception, but they have also already recorded considerable success-and still have a lot. Both work with the committees and the clubs”praised Watzke.
When awarding national media rights for the 2025/26 to 2028/29 seasons, the DFL had an increase of around two percent compared to the previous four-year cycle with a total of 4.484 billion euros. In the period in question, the 36 professional associations can expect income of 1.121 billion euros per season.
Investor deal failed
Lenz and Merkel had also attempted a second attempt after taking office to get an investor on board for the DFL. Although, unlike the first attempt in the summer of 2023, the necessary majority of the clubs were present, the DFL tip stopped the negotiations in early 2024 after massive fan protests and some concerns of several clubs.
“The influencing factors in global football are constantly increasing”, Lenz said after the extension: “In this dynamic environment, it will continue to be a German way in the future to go a German way that fits our tradition and at the same time enables us to progress.”