About

Stefan Schmidt works in the legal department of German Football Association DFB (Deutscher Fußball-Bund), an unusual employer which operates as an association representing its 6.8 million members. Within the legal department he is in charge of ‘commercial and business-related matters the DFB is facing as the world’s largest sports association representing one sport’. He, as much as his colleagues in the tight-knit legal department, understands his role as being an ‘all-rounder with distinct expertise in sports law related matters’, among them matters such as the marketing and organisation of sports events. Only if very specific issues arise, for example antitrust matters, does the team consult external counsel. So far his career highlight has been providing ‘legal advice regarding the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany’, but also his long list of published work underlines Schmidt’s specific expertise in international large scale sports events and his focus on data protection in the sports sector.