“Not flourishing.” This is how chairman Jaap Veerman describes the current financial situation of FC Volendam in football talk show De Aftrap. Jan Smit’s successor is busy working with the new board to balance the budget for next season. Veerman is a guest with former professional Joop Böckling in De Aftrap, which can be seen on TV on NH tonight.
“It is a tough time for Volendam,” says Veerman. “Last year there was a loss of 3 million euros and this year there is an operational deficit of 2.5 million.”
The club will still receive money for the sale of Murkin and Eiting. The resale of former player Van de Ven by Wolfsburg to Tottenham Hotspur also yields a considerable amount for Volendam. Although, according to Veerman, the transfer fee will be transferred in two installments and Volendam will even receive the compensation for Van de Ven’s youth training in four installments.
Veerman wants to increase income as quickly as possible. “We will make it this year, but it is a big concern. We are in discussions with Wolfsburg to bring forward the payment of the second installment. That would be extremely good for Volendam. We cannot start the new season with a loss of 2.5 million and let’s hope that that gap will be closed by transfers.”
New stadium
The ambitious plans that Jan Smit had to move to Purmer and build a new stadium there, ‘t Skip, have been put on hold by the new board. “We will investigate with the municipality what the possibilities are to renovate the current stadium. But it is also possible that we build a new stadium at the existing location in combination with, for example, a hotel or a city office.”
Joop Böckling
The other guest at the table is former striker Joop Böckling. In the 1970s and 1980s he played successively for HFC Haarlem, FC Volendam, Sparta Rotterdam and FC Eindhoven. Nowadays he is the coach of fourth division Haarlem-Kennemerland, which plays on the same grounds as the former professional club. “Nothing has changed there. Only the main field has turned a quarter turn. It’s a bit of a homecoming there.”
If you want to see the entire broadcast of De Aftrap, click on the video at the top. You can see De Afkick on TV every Friday at 5:10 PM on NH Sport. This is followed by repetition every hour. Next week, former goalkeeper Jeroen Verhoeven and sports journalist Willem Vissers will be our guests. If you have any questions, please send an email to [email protected]