Amsterdam cuts ties with youth care org. that spent funds on amateur football club
The municipality of Amsterdam has terminated its partnership with one of the city’s leading providers of intensive youth care - the Stichting Verenigd Jeugdhulp. Investigations revealed that one of the foundation’s two companies funneled youth care funds to an amateur football club, Nieuwsuur reported.
The company involved is Boomerang Zorg. In 2023, a court ruling revealed that the organization had transferred €323,000 in youth care funds to the Amsterdam amateur football club AGB. Boomerang Zorg claimed that the amounts transferred to the football club were intended for daytime activities for the young people in its care, focused on sports and games. But the court ruled that there was no evidence that these daytime activities existed or that young people participated in them.
The municipality of Amsterdam only discovered this two years later, in January 2025, and launched an integrity investigation. The municipality submitted 41 questions to Boomerang Zorg regarding the spending of care funds and cooperation with other parties. According to the municipality, the company only answered eight of the questions.
The municipality also discovered that the director of the amateur football club was also the director of a home care organization that offers supported living for young people, among other things. Boomerang Zorg purchased services from this organization on a large scale. In 2023, the court removed the director from his position because he had previously siphoned off large sums of money from the youthgcare organization to companies in which he or relatives held an interest.
The municipality has now decided to cut ties entirely with Stichting Verenigd Jeugdhulp, although the municipality sees no reason to investigate the foundation’s other subsidiary, Multi Plus Zorg. The foundation received large sums of money from the municipality. In 2025 alone, it amounted to over €10 million for the care of approximately 66 young people. The foundation remains responsible for these young people until a different place can be found for them, but without financial support from the municipality.
Boomerang Zorg called the dissolution of the contract regrettable. “We are also deeply concerned about the continuity of care for our young people in Amsterdam, as we serve a complex target group for which a suitable alternative is not readily available,” a spokesperson told Nieuwsuur.
The municipality told the program that it is critically reviewing its oversight of the youth care organization and intends to strengthen it. At this time, the municipality is not making any statements regarding potential legal follow-up steps, such as recovering funds or filing a police report.
