1. FC Köln and Jörg Schmadtke have terminated the Managing Director’s contract by mutual agreement.

Following a thorough and intensive analysis, the Board of 1. FC Köln and Managing Director Jörg Schmadtke have come to differing opinions regarding the future sporting orientation of the club. For this reason, the two sides have decided to dissolve the contract, which was set to run until 2023, by mutual agreement with immediate effect.

“Jörg Schmadtke did some very good work for 1. FC Köln. He led this team back into the Bundesliga and was part of a team that helped this club qualify for European football for the first time in 25 years. We are very grateful to him for this. We wish him and his family all the best in the future,” said President Werner Spinner.

“With this move I want to open the road for a fresh impulse,” said Jörg Schmadtke to his decision. “I would like to say thank you for the trustful work here. To the team, the training staff, and all others involved I wish all the best and much success.”

Jörg Schmadtke came to 1. FC Köln in the summer of 2013. FC went on to become the champions of the second division (2014) and qualified for the Bundesliga. In the following season FC achieved 12th place (2015), followed by 9th (2016) and then the previous season, which ended with a 5th place finish and a berth in the UEFA Europa League.