Fortuna Düsseldorf needs a new director for its NLZ. Frank Schaefer and the club have agreed to end their cooperation on 28 February 2023.

Fortuna Düsseldorf must look for a new director for its junior training centre. Frank Schaefer and the club announced on Thursday that they will end their cooperation on 28 February 2023. This, he said, had been mutually agreed upon.

“Frank Schaefer’s wish to leave Fortuna came as a surprise. We regret the decision very much, but have to respect it. We would have liked to continue working with Frank, because he has done an outstanding job in his more than six years at Fortuna and has lifted our NLZ to a whole new level, both in terms of sport and structure,” said Klaus Allofs, Fortuna’s sports director, regretting Schaefer’s decision.

Schaefer came to the state capital as head of the NLZ in October 2016 and was appointed director in November 2019. Schaefer had been responsible for continuously professionalising and developing Fortuna’s NLZ in big steps since 2016. Allofs continued: “Despite limited resources and great competition, he has managed to ensure that our NLZ teams are represented in the highest divisions and that the permeability to the professionals is very remarkable. This must continue to be Fortuna’s path. Therefore, we will work with him to create the best possible transition and find a suitable successor for Fortuna.”

Schaefer himself emphasised in his statement that he had experienced a very intense time: “The club has really grown on me. That’s why I also wrestled a lot with this decision. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that everything in life has its time, and I have come to the personal decision to end this task on 1 March and leave the club.” He also deliberately chose this date, “because this is a strategic position and the club has every opportunity to prepare for the coming season in a new constellation. “