Ferry de Haan is not happy with the gentlemen’s agreement concluded in 2018 between Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord, PSV, FC Utrecht and Vitesse not to take youth players away from each other. The general manager of SC Heerenveen states that other clubs that fall outside that agreement can still fall victim to the big clubs. This makes competition unfair, he says.
“The clubs at our level can still be completely robbed,” De Haan says in the podcast The Boardroom. “Ultimately, everyone wants their talents to debut under the light poles of their own stadium. We will see whether an arrangement can be made that can initially be deployed Eredivisie-wide, but ideally also professional football-wide.”
De Haan is convinced that youth players will improve by staying grounded in their environment for longer. “Of course it is part of the system we are in and we reap the benefits of it from time to time, but it must continue to pay off to develop talent. It is crazy that you take eleven-year-old boys away from their familiar environment. Just let them develop. I think they also thrive best in that familiar environment. Of course, ultimately there comes a time when the talent exceeds the level of the club, but I think there are plenty of examples of players who leave too early.”
An action is coming from the general manager of the Frisians. “A group has now been put together for this purpose with ADs and TDs from several clubs. This way we can look not only from a football technical point of view, but also financially, at the possibilities for the same kind of arrangement for the entire Eredivisie. It is extremely important, because clubs should live from developing talent and then selling it.”
