Peter Knäbel has been elected as the new president of the Swiss Football Association (SFV) approximately one and a half years after resigning as the sports director of second-division club Schalke 04.
At the SFV’s general assembly, the delegates voted by acclamation for the 58-year-old Westphalian, who holds a Swiss passport, as the successor to the previous association head, Dominique Blanc. Knäbel, who previously worked as the Technical Director at the SFV from 2009 to 2014, will take office on August 1st.
Knäbel Left Schalke After Relegation
Knäbel, who was born in Witten, Westphalia, relinquished his board position at Schalke at the beginning of 2024 due to the ongoing problems of the Royal Blues after their second Bundesliga relegation under his leadership. Before his five-year engagement in Gelsenkirchen, the former professional footballer served as the Director of Professional Football at Hamburger SV.
In Switzerland, Knäbel worked as a player-coach at FC Winterthur towards the end of his active career and subsequently in various management functions at FC Basel, just as he did later.