August 4, 2025 — Hamburg, Germany.
In what should have been a smooth hand-over, the European League of Football (ELF) announced a major leadership shuffle: longtime sports and finance executive Ingo Schiller has been appointed Co-CEO and CFO with immediate effect, while founder and majority shareholder Zeljko Karajica will officially step down from management duties at the end of the 2025 season but remain the main shareholder.
Schiller arrives from decades in German football—senior roles at Hertha BSC and as member of the supervisory board of the Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH (DFL).
What raised eyebrows, however, was the fact that Schiller’s appointment was already announced, yet his role was not yet registered in the commercial register, and there was no public record of him being formally entered into the company structure of the ELF. Many stakeholders saw this as a signal—not only of change, but of disorder behind the scenes.
From Founder to Shareholder
Karajica’s decision to shift from operational leadership to a purely ownership role echoes the earlier exit of the league’s Commissioner and top operations team. The timing is telling: as the league faces internal fractures, commercial challenges, and the emergence of the rival European Football Alliance (EFA), this leadership hand-over feels less like succession and more like retreat.
With Ingo Schiller, we’ve gained a partner who’s proven how to lead sports organisations strategically, economically, structurally,” said Commissioner Patrick Esume.
Yet the missing formal registration raised questions among franchises, vendors, and media partners: if this change is so strategised, why the delay in the paperwork?
For many, it became another quiet warning: the show may live on, but the backstage is complicated.
What It Means for the League
For the ELF franchises:
• The new co-CEO brings credibility and experience—but entering at a moment of turbulence means the honeymoon may never arrive.
• The founder-CEO becoming shareholder alone suggests a shift away from daily leadership accountability.
• Unregistered titles and incomplete governance raise trust issues just as the league needs trust most.
For the wider ecosystem of sponsors, broadcasters and investors:
It’s a moment of divergence. On one hand: the promise of stabilisation and professionalism. On the other: a signal that the leadership restructure may be damage control rather than strategic renewal.
August 4, 2025 — The day the captain changed his uniform and left the deck.
The league remained afloat, but the waters beneath were uncharted.
