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FC Schalke 04 and Peter Knäbel, in his position as board member for sport, have mutually agreed to end his contract at the club with immediate effect, after it was set to run until June 30, 2024. Following a decision by the supervisory board, Knäbel will also be relieved of his responsibilities as a board member as of 1st January 2024. The 57-year-old will retain a role as a consultant for the Royal Blues until June 30.
Knäbel first took up a role at FC Schalke 04 as technical director in April 2018. While in this position, he implemented key processes to ensure the continued development of the Knappenschmiede, the positive effects of which are represented today in the high levels of talent coming out of the academy each year. He was also an early advocate for digitalisation in sport and made S04 a leader in this area with the help of comprehensive data analysis after having accepted a position on the board in March 2021.
“Together with our new CEO Matthias Tillmann and Christina Rühl-Hamers, we have come to the decision to continue restructuring football at Schalke without the position of board member for sport. Due to the fact that we wanted to implement these changes at the start of the new year, we arrived at a mutual decision with Peter to end his time on the board as of 1st January. The board will take further steps in due course,” explained Axel Hefer, chairman and spokesman for the club’s supervisory board, who, on behalf of the entire board, expressed appreciation for the many years of cooperation with Knäbel. “We are very grateful to Peter for the work he has put in and his tireless efforts for Schalke 04. He played a large part in ensuring that the club was able to get back on solid footing after finding itself in a tough sporting and financial situation after our relegation in 2021. We wish him all the best for the future, both on a personal and professional level.”
“Following my decision to return home to Switzerland at the end of the season, the restructuring process that the supervisory and executive boards are persuing has developed further and has now reached a point where this is the right time for my departure from the board,” said Peter Knäbel. “My full focus was on getting us back on stable footing at the end of the year, which we have been able to do with our recent results. After nearly six years, this marks the end of one of the most intense periods of my career, the highlight of which was our promotion back to the Bundesliga at home against FC St. Pauli, while having to change our main sponsor at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic marked one of the biggest strategic decisions. I would like to thank the supervisory board, my fellow board members and colleagues for their close cooperation. I wish them, the club and the fans all the best and will give them my full support over the upcoming six months in order to help promote several future-oriented projects in the areas of digitalisation and sports science.”
