Vitesse lives; Dutch football association decides that the club can keep its license

Vitesse meets all requirements for retaining its professional license. That is the conclusion of the independent appeals committee for licensing matters of the KNVB following the appeal that Vitesse filed against the earlier decision to revoke the professional license by the licensing committee.

According to the appeals committee, Vitesse has ultimately submitted a balanced budget and demonstrated that the Common Group no longer has a say in who can become a shareholder of the club. These were the last requirements that the appeals committee—and previously the licensing committee—set for Vitesse.

The appeals committee reports that the club had already disclosed a bank account and an auditor. This means that the situation is now fundamentally different from when the licensing committee decided to revoke the license, the appeals committee states.

Obtaining the professional license is separate from Vitesse's request regarding the club's change of control. A spokesperson reports that the KNVB's independent licensing committee—and therefore not the appeal committee—informed Vitesse this week that it wants to conduct a more intensive investigation before it can decide on this.

"The licensing committee has concluded that the (financial) information provided by Vitesse currently does not provide sufficient insight into the full interests of the intended shareholder and the origin of the assets of the intended shareholder. For this reason, a more detailed investigation is necessary," the spokesperson said.

Intended Vitesse owner Guus Franke expressed his disappointment earlier in the week about the late request from the KNVB licensing committee for more information about the takeover process. According to Franke, he had already indicated that he wanted to provide additional explanations on the submitted documents for the takeover where necessary.