DFL establishes expert group for the sporting future of German football

16 October 2025 – The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga has formed a new expert group to bring together the expertise of clubs, the league, the DFB, and external specialists to promptly and intensively discuss strategies for a successful sporting future of German professional football. The aim is to define future priorities for football development and draft an initial package of measures.

“We firmly believe that financial, legal, and sporting frameworks must be in place to ensure the Bundesliga and German football remain consistently competitive,” says DFL CEO Marc Lenz. “Recently, sporting developments – including youth development – have been discussed internally within the league association. It is crucial to draw the right conclusions together. The expert group will provide valuable input for this process.”

The DFL will intensify its work in the sporting domain in close coordination with the DFL commissions and league committees. The expert group will include representatives from the DFL Football Commission, the DFL Youth Academies Commission, the DFB, and additional experts.

• The Football Commission has appointed Andreas Bornemann (FC St. Pauli), Joti Chatzialexiou (1. FC Nürnberg), and Markus Krösche (Eintracht Frankfurt) as its representatives.
• The DFL Youth Academies Commission will be represented by Jochen Sauer (FC Bayern München).
• Other members include World Cup winner Sami Khedira, offering the perspective of a long-standing international top player, and Jürgen Klopp, contributing his experience as one of Germany’s most successful coaches. Both bring extensive knowledge from top foreign leagues and structures.
• In addition to DFL CEO Marc Lenz and DFB Managing Director Andreas Rettig, other national and international experts will be involved on a topic-specific basis.

The expert group will focus on areas such as the training and integration of talents, as well as the further development of club standards and structures. Initial results are expected to be discussed in spring 2026 within the league committees and subsequently with all 36 clubs.

The expert group will be coordinated and supported by Sebastian Zelichowski (DFL Director of Football Development) and Daniel Feld (Head of Youth and Youth Academies at the DFL). To further strengthen the exchange between the DFL, committees, and clubs in the sporting domain, a representative of the Football Commission will also participate in DFL Executive Committee meetings in an advisory capacity. For this role, the Football Commission has designated Markus Krösche or Max Eberl (FC Bayern München), depending on their availability.