March 17 – Adidas boss Herbert Hainer is to take over as the new chairman of Bayern Munich following the resignation of Uli Hoeness in the wake of his tax evasion scandal.
Hoeness has decided to accept a three and half year prison term for evading €28 million in taxes and is stepping down at a club with which he has been involved for more than 30 years and which he turned into one of the world’s most successful football dynasties
Significantly, Adidas owns an 8.3% stake in Bayern and has provided kit for the club for over half a century.
Hainer, 59. was previously deputy head of the supervisory board at Bayern Munich and said Hoeness would be hard act to follow having “helped turn FC Bayern Munich into one of the most successful clubs in the world, both on and off the pitch.”
“Uli Hoeness has always served Bayern Munich’s best interests with his leadership qualities, his high personal involvement and his exceptional lifetime achievements. He has made a considerable contribution to Bayern Munich becoming one of the most successful and attractive clubs in the world, financially and sportingly, and we will always be extremely grateful to him for this.”
Hainer, CEO of Adidas, has immense business experience and his appointment by the Bayern board is unlikely to adversely affect what happens on the pitch where the club reign supreme domestically and in Europe.
Adidas announced earlier this month that Hainer will continue as CEO for a further two years until March 2017, and that that the ‘transition’ to his successor has begun. Hainer has been CEO since 2001 and is 59.
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