FC Groningen will first look for new members for the Supervisory Board (SB) before the vacancy for a new director is opened.
The three current commissioners decided this in consultation with the foundation board, the highest administrative body of the club. The latter body includes mayor of Assen Marco Out, lawyer Peter Yspeert and former top official of the municipality of Groningen Arie Wink. The Supervisory Board has three other members: former councilor of the municipality of Groningen Paul de Rook, representative of the supporters Bas Schrage and technical man Han Berger.
Trust canceled
Last week, chairman Erik Mulder and Supervisory Board member Berend Rubingh decided to resign, after the Supporters’ Association of FC Groningen had expressed no confidence in the Supervisory Board and general director Wouter Gudde had announced his departure. Gudde will leave the club at the end of the season.
“The first step in the process that now awaits is to restore the strength of the Supervisory Board,” report the directors of the declining northern football pride, which can currently be found in thirteenth place in the first division. . A search is underway for a commissioner with a financial background and a new chairman. The recruitment and selection procedure mainly focuses on the club’s own network. “The procedure must be completed decisively, carefully and with urgency,” the Supervisory Board and foundation board said.
Club owned by supporters?
When the council is back at full strength, the search will start for a new general manager to replace Wouter Gudde. The Supervisory Board and the foundation board will maintain the current organizational structure of FC Groningen. The voices that have been raised here and there to put the club more in the hands of the supporters, based on the German model, are not being heard for the time being. “Discussions about structure and organization are not on the agenda now,” say the Supervisory Board and the foundation board.
According to both administrative bodies, the emphasis in the coming period will mainly be on improving the performance of the first team. “Although FC Groningen is in a turbulent period, peace and stability are the most important things at the moment for both the football technical and other departments within FC Groningen.”