Vitesse is officially out of Russian hands, the Arnhem team report via official channels. The share transfer was approved by the licensing committee on Friday and has now been definitively completed. The club has also been given a one-week extension regarding the final withdrawal of the license, according to Jeroen Kapteijns on behalf of The Telegraph.

“After Vitesse received official approval for the transfer of the shares, the transfer of the shares in Vitesse held by PMH (Valeriy Oyf) to the independent Vitesse Voor Altijd foundation has actually taken place,” the Arnhem team said on the club website.

“With this share transfer, the ties are officially severed between Vitesse and PMH. An absolute requirement from the Licensing Committee. From here the club can also work on restoring its banking relationship with ING Bank and the relationship with BDO Accountants,” it continues. to read.

Three independent directors have been appointed to the new foundation, namely John Jaakke, Pieter Colijn and Erik Mulder. The Vitesse Voor Altijd foundation will focus on the temporary management and sale of the shares.

“We are not there yet, that realization is there,” said Edwin Reijntjes, interim general manager of the club, on Friday. “We are continuing with what we are doing and are looking at it from week to week with the licensing committee. For all Vitessen residents: there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel and that is also because of your unconditional support. For Yellow-Black,” said Reijntjes on the Vitesse website.

Vitesse has taken several actions in recent weeks to save the club's existence. One of these was a crowdfunding that became a huge success. The counter now stands at more than one and a half million euros and that action gave the KNVB and the licensing committee the signal that the supporters and entrepreneurs in Arnhem and beyond support Vitesse unconditionally.

Vitesse is not there yet, but the transfer of the shares was one of the most important requirements for retaining the license. More will become clear about the future of the club in the near future.

This article is an update of an earlier news item. The comments below the message may therefore be less current.

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