Hamburg appoints Kathleen Krueger as the Bundesliga’s first female sports director

Bundesliga club Hamburg appointed Kathleen Krueger as sporting director on Tuesday, making her the first woman to hold the position permanently in the competition’s history.

Krueger, 40, joined the 1983 European Cup winners after two decades at Bayern Munich, where she last held a management role.

In a statement, Hamburg praised the incoming Krueger’s work with former Bayern coaches Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Hansi Flick and Jupp Heynckes.

“I am very pleased with the trust placed in me,” Krueger said in the statement.

“It is a real privilege to play a decisive role in shaping the future of Hamburg, one of the biggest names in German football.”

Krueger, a former player, retired in 2009 at the age of 24 after 33 appearances in the Bundesliga with Bayern. She stayed with the Bavarian giant after hanging up her boots.

Krueger succeeds former sporting director Stefan Kuntz, who left the club in January.

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Hamburg, a traditional giant of German football, returned to the Bundesliga last summer after seven seasons in the second division and have already secured top-flight status for next season.

The appointment of women in the role of sporting director is rare in men’s football. Helena Costa is currently sporting director of Portuguese first division club Estoril, having been appointed in January 2025.

Krueger is the latest woman to be appointed to management and coaching positions in the Bundesliga this season.

Union Berlin manager Marie-Louise Eta became the first coach of a men’s club in a major European competition when she took charge in April.

RB Leipzig appointed former Swiss international Tatjana Haenni as CEO in January, the first woman to hold the position in the history of the Bundesliga.

German clubs traditionally operate a sporting director model, which shares responsibility between coaches and administrators, and which has become more popular elsewhere in recent years.

Sports directors determine a club’s strategic direction and oversee player recruitment, tasks sometimes performed by managers in other leagues.

Published on May 12, 2026