Hannes Käsbauer will become sporting director of the Deutscher Badminton-Verband (DBV) on 1 November 2026, with the German federation presenting the appointment as a move towards longer-term stability in its elite programme.
The DBV said its executive board chose Käsbauer after a recruitment process involving a public advertisement and structured selection interviews. He will take charge of the federation’s elite-sport department, having held a series of coaching and performance roles within the organisation since 2016.
Käsbauer’s move creates an immediate vacancy in his present position as national head coach. However, the DBV said it would not initially appoint a replacement, adding that every discipline remained covered by national coaches and that the sporting work would not be affected.
The decision separates the federation’s strategic performance leadership from Käsbauer’s day-to-day head-coaching duties. The DBV said it would take time over the decision, with further developments in coaching positions expected in the coming months.
A long-term remit for Germany’s elite programme
The federation said it wanted the sporting director’s role to provide consistency over years rather than frequent changes in leadership. It argued that elite-sport plans required more than a few months to deliver results and should extend beyond a single Olympic cycle.
That is the central significance of Käsbauer’s appointment. Rather than bringing in an external administrator, the DBV has selected a figure who has worked across its existing performance structure. The federation said his experience of athletes, coaches, regional training centres and state associations had informed its decision that the strongest candidate came from within the organisation.
Käsbauer has worked full-time for the DBV since 2016. The federation said he began as a national coach, subsequently became head of a federal training centre and was appointed national head coach in 2024. It also described him as a former national player.
DBV president Ulrich Grill said the board wanted the sporting director’s office to bring calm and reliability, while also giving capable people within German badminton a route to progress without leaving the federation. The appointment therefore reflects a stated preference for developing internal coaching and management talent as well as retaining it.
Measurable priorities to be agreed with the board
The DBV said its executive board would remain closely involved in setting the strategic framework for elite sport during the coming months. It said Käsbauer and the board would agree a set of objectives containing verifiable milestones, placing formal checks around the new director’s work.
Among the areas identified by the federation are an updated youth elite-sport plan, a strategy for the DBV’s position in relation to expected changes in German sports funding from 2029, and the scheduled review of regional target agreements with state associations. The planned work also includes an update on clarifying responsibilities and decision-making routes across the federation, including elite sport.
Käsbauer said changing conditions in German high-performance sport required practical responses. He indicated that he intended to work with coaches, athletes and state associations in addressing the areas where the federation could improve.
The agreed milestones give Käsbauer a strategic brief covering youth elite sport, funding-policy preparation, regional agreements and governance responsibilities. Its decision not to rush a successor as national head coach suggests the federation believes its discipline coaches can preserve the immediate programme while it considers the next stage of its coaching structure.
Whether the internal appointment delivers the continuity envisaged by the board will depend on the progress against those milestones. For now, the DBV has made clear that it sees Käsbauer’s knowledge of its current system as the foundation for a more durable performance strategy.