The long-time mayor of Sinsheim, Jörg Albrecht, is the new president of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. The 55-year-old was elected as the new chairman of the association at the Kraichgauer general meeting in the Sinsheim town hall on Monday with 273 of the 445 votes cast. It remains to be seen what effect the election will have on the recent extreme unrest surrounding the Bundesliga football club.
Marvin Rotermundt, a 29-year-old TSG fan, was the only opposing candidate – with little hope of success, as he himself explained at his introduction. He received 123 votes. Some people in the hall shouted “Albrecht out”. Parts of the fan scene view Albrecht, who stepped down as mayor at the end of August, critically because of his closeness to club patron Dietmar Hopp.
Violent protests after Rosen’s exit
A few weeks before the start of the season, TSG had initiated a shake-up at the management level and, among other things, parted ways with its long-time sports director Alexander Rosen. The result was fierce fan protests and a boycott of the league games against Holstein Kiel and Eintracht Frankfurt.
The fans’ displeasure was also directed against main shareholder Hopp, whose influence on the spun-off professional department is still considered to be great – even though he returned the majority of voting rights to the eV in the summer of 2023. Since the resignation of former president Kristian Baumgärtner at the beginning of July, the association has been led on an interim basis by 2nd chairwoman Simone Engelhardt.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240902-930-221157/1
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