Sep 28, 2023 at 2:05 PM Update: 9 minutes ago
Michael van Praag was given two top positions in one day. He becomes chairman of the basketball association and returns to Ajax. Van Praag must guide the club out of the crisis as chairman of the supervisory board.
Not only Van Praag is on his way to the supervisory board of Ajax. Former KLM CEO Leo van Wijk is also discussing a return to the Johan Cruijff ArenA. The current commissioners see the two 76-year-old directors as the ideal successors to the resigned Pier Eringa and Jan van Halst, who is now interim director.
Van Praag is well known at Ajax. He was chairman of the Amsterdam club between 1989 and 2003. During that period, Ajax achieved great success, with the Champions League final victory in 1995 as the highlight. Van Wijk was previously a commissioner at Ajax and is currently an honorary member.
“I was chairman of Ajax for fourteen years and chairman of the supervisory board for six years,” says Van Praag about his new position. “So I know a bit about what happens at Ajax.”
Ajax is in a deep crisis. The club has started the season dramatically and is only fourteenth in the Eredivisie. Technical director Sven Mislintat was fired on Sunday. Eringa resigned on Wednesday.
The current supervisory board of Ajax consists of Annette Mosman, Georgette Schlick and Cees van Oevelen. Alex Kroes is only allowed to start as general manager in March due to a non-competition clause he signed with AZ. Until then, Van Halst will fill that role.
From Praag also on the way to the basketball association
Remarkably, it was already announced on Thursday that Van Praag will become the new chairman of the NBB basketball association. He is the only candidate who can be voted on at the general membership meeting of November 25.
The question is to what extent Van Praag can hold two positions at the same time, although he sees no problem with that. “There are more people on a supervisory board who do things on the side,” he says. “Laura van Leeuwen, for example, is director of MVV and commissioner of the Dutch Basketball Association.”
Van Praag must become Joop Brakenhoff’s successor at the NBB. He recently announced his retirement because he can no longer combine the position with his work.
Image: ANP
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2023-09-28 15:34:02
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