Hera United dreams big. In ten years’ time, the first professional women’s club, with the Olympic Stadium as its home base, will be the Win Champions League. Hera wants to participate in the Eredivisie for the first time next season. To make this possible, the 34 existing professional football organizations will vote tomorrow on a change in the KNVB regulations. Currently, a female professional team must still be part of a male professional football club. And Hera doesn’t want that.
“It is of course strange that 33 men and one woman will vote on the future of a women’s professional club, but I trust that everything will turn out well,” says co-founder and sports journalist Barbara Barend. “Both our lawyers and those of the KNVB have conducted research showing that this is no longer constitutionally tenable based on Article 1. So if the clubs vote against, we will have to look at other options. This will work one way or the other,” she says from the stands of the Olympic Stadium. She owns the club together with Marieke Visser and Susan van Geenen.
Working full time and playing football
This summer Hera announced a collaboration with Telstar Women. If the club from Velsen-Zuid is not relegated, Hera will take over the professional license, so that they can immediately enter the Eredivisie. For a small club like Telstar, with a small budget, it is increasingly difficult in the long term to continue to participate at the highest level. So a win-win situation. “We can start straight away in the Eredivisie. We don’t have to climb the ladder and we can build on all their knowledge, skills and efforts,” says Barend.