Dutch soccer clubs facing financial hardship

ARNHEM – Dutch soccer is in plenty of financial trouble. Five clubs in the country’s honour division have been assigned a monitor, another eight in the first division. Seven clubs were penalized with minus points at the start of the season, making it doubly hard for them to rise to the top of the pack by the end of the new season if they survive financially. Arnhem’s Vitesse, founded in 1892, gained the dubious honour of being the first Dutch club to now have a foreigner as its owner. Maasbert Schouten sold the club to Georgian Merab Jordania, a former soccer player, coach and current sports entrepreneur. As far as the Word Cup is concerned, Dutch tourism promoter NBTC is very satisfied with the Netherlands having benefited from the games’ worldwide exposure. Yet, some Dutch entrepreneurs who gambled on their country winning the Cup, were left with pre-ordered merchandise which they hoped to start selling the day Orange had won. It was not to be.