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In a personal meeting, Peter Knäbel, board member for sport, informed FC Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04’s supervisory board that he will not seek another term on the board and that he will be leaving the club at the end of the current season.
“It has been a positive exchange characterised by mutual respect, which is why Peter’s decision didn’t surprise us. Peter joined the board during the biggest crisis in the club’s recent history and played a big role in ensuring that the club was able to survive on the pitch after relegation and cope financially off the field in 2021,” explained Axel Hefer, chairman of the supervisory board. Whilst in charge, Peter was able to provide important impulse which helped with the club’s further development. We can already see the positive results, especially within the academy as there are now far more top talents. We would now like to thank him for the work he has done.”
Peter Knäbel, who joined Schalke 04 as a director for the academy and development back in 2018, reflected on his decision to leave: “For me, it was important to get things sorted in good time, which is why I spoke to Axel Hefer a few weeks ago to tell him about my future plans. I want to move back to Switzerland to be with my family. During the remainder of my time here, I will still be in daily contact with head coach Karel Geraerts and sporting director André Hechelmann to support them, whilst I will also finish off important projects, including one regarding digitisation. I will do all I can to help Schalke 04 be successful until my final day of work here.”
The remaining time of Knäbel’s contract will be used to prepare for the future. “As already announced, an in-depth analysis will take place during the winter break, in which the sporting leadership will look to find out what has prevented the first team from continuously developing over the past few seasons. The supervisory board will then consider the results when deciding on the future structure and personnel for our sporting leadership,” said Hefer. Regarding the short-term challenges for the first team, Hefer added: “The supervisory board has full trust in sporting director André Hechelmann and head coach Karel Geraerts. Together with their teams, they will prepare for the winter transfer window and then deal with it alongside the board and supervisory board as always.”
