German football legend Philipp Lahm will serve as tournament director for the 2024 European Championships in his home country after a joint venture was established between UEFA and the German Football Association (DFB).
The joint venture will be known as ‘Euro 2024 GmbH’ and its shareholders will be DFB Euro GmbH and UEFA Events SA. Lahm (pictured centre), who was an ambassador of Germany’s successful bid for Euro 2024, will act as tournament director on behalf of the joint venture.
Andreas Schär, chief of venue operations at UEFA Events SA, and Markus Stenger, DFB Euro GMbH director and leader of Germany’s bid for the tournament, will serve as directors of the new joint venture. Policy decisions relating to Euro 2024 will be controlled by a steering group under the guidance of senior UEFA and DFB officials.
Lahm, who won the FIFA World Cup as captain of Germany in 2014, said: “A major competition needs professional foundations. With the joint venture between the DFB and UEFA, we have created an appropriate platform to ensure UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany is a huge success. We can now launch new projects and move forward. I am grateful to our colleagues at UEFA. As EURO 2024 tournament director, I am really looking forward to our cooperation and the next steps that we will now embark on together.”
Trevor Birch will become the new chief executive of the English Football League (EFL) on January 1.
Birch will join the EFL from his current position as director of football operations at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. He has previously worked as chief executive of Chelsea, Everton, Leeds United, Sheffield United and Derby County, as well as chair of Swansea City.
Birch will replace David Baldwin as chief executive of the EFL. Baldwin took up the position in June after spending five years as chief executive of Burnley.
Birch said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of Spurs, however the opportunity to play a role in the EFL at such a crucial time is one I couldn’t turn down. There is a big job to be done dealing with the effect of the pandemic, together with participating in discussions on the future structure of football and I hope I can make a meaningful contribution to that process.”
Umar Kremlev has been elected president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and has called for unity and reforms within the organisation.
Kremlev was elected during AIBA’s virtual congress meeting at the weekend and received 57.33 per cent of the vote. His manifesto aims to pay off the millions of dollars in debt accumulated by AIBA under previous administrations.
Kremlev said: “Let me make it clear: the path to rebuilding AIBA is not easy. It will not happen overnight. We have to unite together and work with one mission, and one mission alone: rebuilding the credibility and trust that AIBA once had in the minds of sports people worldwide and that includes, of course, restoring AIBA’s Olympic status.”
Paul McDonough has stepped down from his role as chief operating officer and sporting director of Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami.
McDonough joined Inter Miami in August 2018 and helped oversee the development of the club’s academy, USL League One and MLS teams, while managing the construction of the franchise’s training facility and its temporary home stadium, which opened earlier this year for the club’s debut season in MLS.
James Hogben has been promoted to managing director of sports marketing agency LimeLight Sports.
Hogben has been with the agency for 13 years and will assume the new role with immediate effect. Hogben previously served as creative director working across all LimeLight accounts, with a focus on its Nike partnership, driving new opportunities and leading the strategy team.
Hogben will continue to report directly to LimeLight Sports Group chief executive Craig Dews.
Do you have news of an appointment that we should know about? Get in touch by emailing news.editor@thestadiumbusiness.com and we’ll include it in our next round-up.
Image: DFB
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