Bert van Oostveen will leave his position as the director of football at the KNVB on the 1st of September.
- By Michael Bell
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The 45-year-old has held the position for six years but has come under severe scrutiny since the Oranje failed to qualify for the European Championships earlier this year. At the request of the KNVB he remains as Secretary-General and tournament director for the Women’s European Championships 2017.
Van Oostveen released a statement which read, “The time as chairman of professional football has been great, but at the same time excessively intense. That’s why I have partly used the summer to take a good think about my own future. Many projects failed, many ambitions were realized, some not.
“It was nice to work in professional football, but at the same time you should not close your eyes to reality. That reality is that leadership – especially in professional football – is not perishable. I’ve always said you to do this kind of functionality never more than between six and eight years. That led me to the conclusion that it is time for new challenges. I stay still here at the request of the KNVB. ”
KNVB president Michael van Praag said on the news, “I have deep admiration for all things he has accomplished in extremely difficult circumstances. I am pleased that we will cooperate even more closely and jointly continue to represent the KNVB abroad.”
According to VI, Van Oostveen will be replaced by Gijs de Jong, who is currently operational director of football at the KNVB.
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