German second-division club Hamburg has appointed Kathleen Krüger as its new sporting director, making her the first woman to hold such a high-profile role in a German football league team.
The 40-year-old spent the last two decades at Bayern Munich, where her most recent position involved organizational management. During her time at the Bavarian giants, she worked with renowned coaches such as Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Hansi Flick, and Jupp Heynckes.
“With her arrival at HSV, she becomes the first sporting director in Bundesliga history,” Hamburg wrote in a statement announcing the appointment.
Krüger, who played 33 matches for Bayern’s women’s team before retiring in 2009 at just 24 years old, replaces Stefan Kuntz, who left the club in January.
“I am very happy about the trust placed in me. It is a true privilege to play a decisive role in shaping the future of Hamburg, one of the biggest names in German football,” she said in the statement.
Hamburg is one of the historic clubs in the Bundesliga, although they have faced sporting difficulties in recent years, leading to their first-ever relegation to the second division. After seven seasons in the second tier, they returned to the top flight last summer and have already secured their place in the Bundesliga for the upcoming campaign.
Women taking on sporting director roles in men’s football remains rare. Helena Costa currently holds this position at Estoril, a club in Portugal’s top division, after being appointed in January 2025. Another Bundesliga club, Union Berlin, made history in April by naming Marie-Louise Eta as head coach of the first team, making her the first woman to lead a club in a major European league. In January, RB Leipzig appointed former Swiss international Tatjana Haenni as general manager, the first woman to hold that position in Bundesliga history.
The sporting director role is crucial in German clubs, as they set the strategic direction and oversee player recruitment—tasks that are sometimes handled by coaches in other leagues.