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·26 June 2024
Get Belgian & Dutch Football News
·26 June 2024
The KNVB have revoked Vitesse’s professional license as of July 9, as another twist in the Arhem tale arrives with the club failing to submit a comprehensive budget to the football association.
The club also reportedly has no bank account and no accountant report EPSN.nl. Vitesse are appealing to save the club and remain active in professional football next season.
The revocation of the license comes as no surprise. As is known, the club is in major financial problems and has been postponed several times by the KNVB.
The licensing committee states that the club had until Monday to provide the required documents. After having been postponed several times, it appears that another postponement is impossible due to the approaching start of the new season. The club’s Interim General Manager Edwin Reijntjes offered comment, saying, “It was expected that such a decision would be taken. After all, we were not able to provide the required information on time. As also announced to the KNVB, we will immediately file an appeal. Given the developments in recent days – referring to the agreement with Coley Parry – we approach this process with confidence. We are not giving up in the interests of the club, it is certainly not yet a done course.”
He continued, “As I have said before; resolving the past is the most important step. In Guus Franke we have found a fantastic Gelderland entrepreneur, with sympathy for the club, who wants to solve the past for us. Obviously this is a cautious joy. Our appeal process starts today and we must obtain approval for the follow-up from the Licensing Committee. We will provide the necessary information for this in Zeist in the coming days. Hopefully we will receive good news from the Licensing and Appeals Committee within a few weeks and we can definitely continue!”
As hinted at above, Vitesse is said to be in discussions with businessman Guus Franke about a takeover. Franke is a Vitesse fan who has been in Switzerland with his company for a long time. “In fact, he was not on the radar of local journalists and Vitesse fans at all. He is a man with a billion-dollar company who wants to invest money in the club and thereby buy off Coley Parry’s debts,” said ESPN reporter Teun de Boer.
The licensing committee responded to Vitesse’s current situation. “One of the most important goals of the licensing system is to ensure the continuity of the competition. If Vitesse were to participate in the competition under the current circumstances, i.e. without a bank account, without an accountant and without a balanced budget, its continuity would be seriously jeopardized.”
According to De Gelderlander, Franke has already reached an agreement with Parry. The American’s loans to Vitesse are converted into a debt. According to the newspaper, Parry will receive a full refund of that amount of reportedly €14.3 million. All parties are thus taking an important step in the intended takeover of Vitesse by Franke. However, even more haste is now required. If the required budget is not submitted by July 9, Vitesse will cease to exist.