Martin Kowalewski's utmost priority is the branding side of football. As a marketing expert, he knows the football business inside out but as a former player his skill set is not just limited to the business side of the game. His football career began as a 17-year-old when he signed for his hometown club, second division Darmstadt 98. He played as a defender for the club for five seasons before switching to league rivals FSV Frankfurt. He played over 140 games for the two clubs in the second division.  Kowalewski went on to play for the Orlando Sundogs in the American A League. On his return to Germany, he rekindled his relationship with Darmstadt 98 but traded his workplace on the pitch for one in the office when he became the club’s marketing manager. Kowalewski worked in this area from 2001 for SPORTFIVE, European market leader in sports marketing. From July 2007 until end of 2015 he was the Managing director of Bayer 04 Leverkusen Marketing GmbH. In the end of 2015, Martin Kowalewski joined sporteo International Sportmanagement AG in the Principality of Liechtenstein and was responsible for the areas of corporate development, marketing, sales, and new business as a member of the board of management. Now Martin Kowalewski is the Managing Director at SV Darmstadt 98.