Eredivisie side FC Twente is "facing expulsion from the Dutch top-flight" next season as the institutional and financial crisis "continues to grow at the club," according to Samindra Kunti of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. The Dutch FA (KNVB) is "threatening to revoke Twente's professional license." FC Twente’s financial trouble "first emerged last season: the club had overspent after the windfall from its Champions League participation" in the '10-11 season and had also "invested considerably in a state-of-the-art stadium." Twente implemented measures after pressure from the KNVB "in the form of a six points deduction punishment, but the club still had debts" of €90M. By the '16-17 season Twente "wanted to reduce its financial budget" to €35M ($39.3M) to "further streamline its operations." Last week the KNVB and chief investigator Ben Knuppe released a "damning report about Twente's financial management." In response, a majority of Twente's managers "resigned and the club announced a new operational model," but the KNVB maintains that "the club's future is bleak." The "other elephant in the room is Twente’s unsavory connection with Doyen Sport," according to the KNVB report. Doyen Sport "wielded too much power and was in a position to influence Twente’s technical policies." Twente never disclosed the "side letter" to the KNVB and as such "deceived the Dutch FA about its connection with Doyen Sport" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 3/16).
