Management

The KNVB management team consists of seven directors: Marianne van Leeuwen (Director of Professional Football), Jan Dirk van der Zee (Director of Amateur Football), Dave Dekker (Commercial Director), Ron Francis (Financial Director), Nigel de Jong (Director of Top-level Football), Meta Römers (Director of Operations) and Lennard van Ruiven (Director of Football Development).

Marianne van Leeuwen

Director of Professional Football

Marianne van Leeuwen is an experienced chief executive officer with a background in international business. She held executive roles at Reed Elsevier, among others, and was active with several large social organizations. She was also chairman of Amsterdam football club AVV Zeeburgia for seven years. Marianne has been working full-time for the KNVB since 2021.

"In my position as Director of Professional Football, I am specifically responsible for the organization of professional football in the Netherlands, including competitions such as the Eredivisie, Keuken Kampioen Divisie and the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie for women. This also includes our Dutch men's national team. Together with Jan Dirk van der Zee, Director of Amateur Football, and the other board members, I lead the KNVB organization.

Everything we do breathes football and top sport. Our goal is not only to become world champions on the pitch with our Dutch teams, we want to be the best in everything we do. We set the bar high, whether it is organizing competitions, training referees, coaches and administrators or providing service to the clubs.

The professional football clubs, together with the central players' and trainers' councils, constitute my main constituency. Maintaining good contact with them is essential, as is cooperation with the boards of ECV and CED. Together we form the professional football league board and are responsible for, among other things, playing day calendars.

Football really is for everyone. With 9 million fans and 1.2 million active KNVB members, football is the largest physical social network in the Netherlands, where people from diverse backgrounds and cultures come together in their love of the game."

Jan Dirk van der Zee

Director of Amateur Football

Jan Dirk van der Zee has been Director of Amateur Football at the KNVB since April 2015. Van der Zee also has more than 25 years of administrative and management experience. He gained this in retail and as general director at INretail, the trade association in retail non-food.

"I myself have been active in club life for many years, as a football player, board member, trainer and in other volunteer roles. Since my arrival at the KNVB, I have noticed that the organization has become closer to its members and associations. We have made a number of important decisions in and for football. To name a few: the new competition forms for the pupils, the new football pyramid and the further development of women's football.

Ultimately, everything we do must serve the 1.2 million football players who enjoy the game at the 3,000 football clubs in our country, because without players there is no football. The most important thing for me as director at the KNVB is that we always do the right things for Dutch football as a whole. You do this, for example, by working together at all levels. Both inside and outside the organization. And by innovating. I think it is important that the synergy between amateur and professional football is optimal. That is why we now have one central strategic plan and one management.

A weekend without football is almost unthinkable. We think football is something natural, but it is not. During the corona period, everyone noticed what it does to society when there is no football. Football is pre-eminently that popular sport that brings groups of people together and is a sporting and social outlet. That is exactly why this sport is impossible to imagine our society without. The Netherlands has the finest football infrastructure in the world. You can find a football club here on average every 2 kilometers. Our football is part of our Dutch cultural heritage."

Dave Dekker

Commercial Director

Dave Dekker has been commercial director at the KNVB since February 2023. Before that, he has held various (commercial) positions at the football association for twelve years. Dave is ultimately responsible for the commercial department, which includes the parts partnerships & sales, marketing, events & travel, merchandise & licensing and media rights.

"We want to connect all football lovers and fans to football for as long and as often as possible. In the stadium and on and along the fields. That is the basis of our department. We generate income, for example, through our long-term partnerships with A-brands to further raise football to a higher level. As the KNVB, we always want more. By working together, we develop new products, campaigns and events with the goal of offering football fans the best experience with the highest satisfaction. A very challenging and fun job!

Football fans are a big target group for us. We make sure that all matches are visible on TV, fans remember visiting the stadium with pleasure and therefore want to come back. We want to bind people to football for as long as possible. With our team we are working on this every day. By really getting to know football fans, we can also serve them better.

Football is the most important sideline in the Netherlands. If you look at the impact of qualifying for the European Championship (or any other final tournament), that is special. The Orange feeling creates a connection. I myself see the power of football every Saturday. Over 4 million people are on or alongside the field. Whether you are a spectator or volunteer or play yourself: football brings us together."

Ron Francis

Financial Director

Ron Francis has worked at the KNVB since 2001. In 2008, he set up KNVB Expertise. This knowledge center is a partnership between the Eredivisie, Eerste Divisie, FBO and the KNVB. KNVB Expertise conducts scientific research and advises clubs on business operations. On July 1, 2010, Ron Francis joined the board in the position of Financial Director.

"The best part of my job is the diversity and working with driven colleagues who are one hundred percent committed to football in the Netherlands. Everyone does that from their own area of expertise. Coaches of tomorrow are trained, there is knowledge development and football players are guided as well as possible so that everyone experiences their sport in a safe and pleasant way. That diversity is great fun!

Every day we want to do better and better. I think we at the KNVB are on the right track. We must try to make what we do easier and easier for everyone. It is important to constantly think of the person you are doing it for. Whether it is a supporter, the children going to football or the parents standing along the line; we want to offer everyone the ultimate football experience. The footballer is central!

Football connects. Besides the fact that it is good for you to keep moving, all social layers disappear the moment you put on the same football shirt. Football is low-threshold, it is not for nothing the biggest sport in the Netherlands. You basically need four jackets and a ball and you can get going! That's unique."

Nigel de Jong

Director of Top-level Football

Nigel de Jong is Director of Top-level Football. He fulfills a crucial role in maximizing the performance of the national teams. Together with Lennard van Ruiven, Director of Football Development, De Jong is responsible for the football technical policy at the KNVB. With his impressive record as a professional footballer - De Jong played 450 matches in domestic and foreign competitions and gained 81 caps for the Dutch national team - the former international embodies the essence of top football like no other.

"My experience in international top football is of great value in this dynamic world. The interaction between players, technical staff and management is familiar territory for me, which allows me to respond to wishes and needs in a targeted way from my role. Speaking the language of the dressing room helps enormously in this work. Together with an enthusiastic team we take football to the next level and aim for the highest: winning big football tournaments.

Of course, we set the bar high for ourselves and our partners. A top sport mentality is crucial in top football. So that includes top sports policy. Shaping this policy is a collective effort: after all, you always do it with and for each other.

Football is popular sport number one. And is a powerful catalyst to connect people. The love of football transcends differences in backgrounds and cultures and brings people together in a unique way. The inestimable value of football as a cultural heritage is beyond dispute for me. I consider it an essential part of our modern society."

Meta Römers

Director of Operations

Meta Römers joined the KNVB as Director of Operations in 2016. Before that, she worked for 20 years within the Randstad Netherlands Group, the last 10 of which in various management positions.

"From my current role, I am concerned with the organization of football. You can think about the leagues, referees, disciplinary matters and basically everything that makes it possible for us to play football every weekend. In addition, we keep our eye on the future to ensure that football is increasingly fun and attractive to play. We are building new league formats, leagues and games that meet the needs of our 1.2 million members. But I am also helping to build a more diverse KNVB, where colleagues from all backgrounds and passions come together to make football even better. I truly believe that a diverse KNVB leads to better decisions for football.

I myself am on a football field every Saturday. I have two sons, one of whom plays very passionately in amateur football and the other is active in youth professional football. Every other week I alternate visits to their matches. In both amateur and professional football, I see that society comes together on and around the pitch. The beauty of football is that when you are standing along the line, or like my children on the field, the differences fall away and we are all then mainly concerned with what happens on the field. It connects us. People who wouldn't meet without football meet on the pitch. That is incredibly valuable!"

Lennard van Ruiven

Director of Football Development

Lennard van Ruiven has been Director of Football Development at the KNVB since 2022. He has gained experience in the field of talent, football and framework development in various roles over the past 25 years. Among other things, Van Ruiven has reformed the competition forms for pupils at the association, introduced the trainer platform Rinus and set up the training line for heads of youth training.

"The thing I enjoy most about my job is the diversity. I am involved in developing football and bringing it to a higher level. Both for professional and amateur football. And from the pupils to the A-teams.

Football development is building the future of the sport. In each area we want to take the next step. We do this by engaging specialists and working together with clubs and interest groups. Central to this is the thought: 'how can we do it even better for the footballer?' An important role in this is reserved for the trainer/coach. That is why we pay a lot of attention to his or her development.

We also focus on other facets of football, because ultimately all parts of the sport are important. For example, we also recently launched the new development program for technical directors. It is my ambition to take this whole thing to a higher level together with our team, Professional Football Organizations, amateur clubs and everyone else involved.

It is very special and beautiful that football touches all layers of the population. Different backgrounds come together on or around the field. Diversity in the broadest sense of the word. I think everyone welcomes that and they get a lot of enjoyment out of the game. Partly because of that, football is an integral part of our society."

Regulations

The Board and the Professional Football Directors have their own regulations.