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Borussia Dortmund is restructuring its sports division. The Executive Committee of the Advisory Board of Borussia Dortmund Geschäftsführungs-GmbH, chaired by BVB President Dr. Reinhold Lunow, has decided to add a new position to the Executive Board. Lars Ricken (47), who has been Director of the Youth Performance Centre since January 1, 2021, will take over as Managing Director of Sport from May 1, 2024 and will be responsible for the sporting area of the eight-time German champions.
Ricken, who in his previous role was responsible for the strategic, personnel and budgetary aspects of BVB’s largest department, has been given a contract until June 30, 2027.
Previously, Managing Directors Thomas Treß (Finance, Organisation, Legal & Investor Relations) and Carsten Cramer (Sales & Marketing, Internationalisation, Digitalisation) had extended their contracts ahead of schedule until June 30, 2027. Hans-Joachim Watzke, who will step down from the Management Board at his own request at the end of 2025, will continue to be responsible for the Human Resources, Communications and Strategy divisions until then. Watzke had already announced in January of this year that he wanted to hand over responsibility for the sport in the summer of 2024. The Presidential Committee has now taken this wish into account with the appointment of Ricken.
“We are very pleased that Lars Ricken will take over responsibility for the sporting area within the management. He has played a major role in the fact that the Dortmund youth academy is by far the most successful German youth academy of the past ten years. BVB regularly celebrates titles with its own youngsters, many talents have made the leap into the BVB first-team squad, and many of our youngsters have made it into the various European professional leagues and multiplied their market values. Lars Ricken’s expertise, his large network and his enormous identification with his hometown club, with whom he also enjoyed great success as a player, will enrich the management,” said BVB President Dr Reinhold Lunow.
Ricken will be responsible for “Sport” as Managing Director from May 1, Sebastian Kehl will continue to act as Director of Sport. Lars Ricken will start talks about a possible contract extension for Sebastian Kehl in the summer. Sven Mislintat (52), an expert with many years of experience and a successful BVB past, will take up his position as technical director on May 1 with a focus on squad planning and report directly to Ricken and Kehl in his new role.
“I would like to thank the Executive Committee and the Management Board for their trust and the appointment as Managing Director Sport. I am convinced that with the incredible power of this club and the passion of our many motivated employees, we will achieve great victories together and steer Borussia Dortmund into a successful future,” said Lars Ricken, who will only speak in more detail about his new role during his official presentation in the days after the last Bundesliga game.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, Chairman of the Management Board, emphasizes: “I am very pleased that Lars Ricken is taking over the position of Managing Director for the Sports Division. I am sure that Borussia Dortmund will continue to be in a first-class professional position in the future with managing directors Thomas Treß, Carsten Cramer and Lars Ricken.”
