Go Ahead Eagles owner Alex Kroes has announced his departure from the club. Kroes signed in Deventer in 2019 and had set the goal to make Go Ahead Eagles the fourteenth club in the Netherlands. On the club site, Kroes says that ‘other challenges’ have come his way and he will focus on one of those opportunities. “I can imagine that this message will surprise the necessary people.”
Kroes is co-founder of the Sports Entertainment Group company, which represents the interests of football players, trainers, basketball players and artists, among others. Sixty percent of the club’s shares were owned by Kroes. Shareholder Kees Vierhouten, owner of pet specialty shop Jumper, increases his share portfolio in the club from thirty to ninety percent and thus becomes the new owner of kowet† Former chairman Hans de Vroome owns the remaining ten percent. “I can imagine that this message will surprise the necessary people”, Kroes begins his explanation of the approaching departure.
“I feel really connected to the club and I think that supporters and sponsors have experienced that in recent years. But a sum of reasons ultimately ensured that I made this difficult but right decision.” It is not entirely clear what Kroes’ next step will be, although he does indicate that he will remain active in football. “Several challenges have come my way, especially in football. I can now follow up that process freely, as the share transfer will then be very well arranged and this will be possible without stress in due course.”
Kroes recently told Football International that the plans for the expansion of stadium De Adelaarshorst are in the pipeline. After enlargement, the budget would increase towards 12.5 million euros. In this way, Kroes hoped to structurally become the fourteenth club in the Netherlands with the Deventenaren. Those plans must now be carried out without Kroes. It is not clear what chance he is talking about. He does say that it is coming soon. “I think one of those opportunities will be realized during the coming year.”
The suspicion of Football International that Ajax will be the possible employer of Kroes, is immediately disproved by the director in conversation with The Stentor† There are challenges outside of Go Ahead that have come my way, though. Ajax is not one of them, although I do want to stay in the football world. One hundred percent. I have been regularly in England lately. There I looked at interesting projects. Whether my future lies abroad? I certainly don’t rule it out.”