Former Chelsea feeder club to start season with just NINE players and host of amateurs after court ruling

CHELSEA’s former feeder club Vitesse Arnhem WITHOUT enough players to field a starting eleven.

The Dutch club were booted out of the Eredivisie last season after failing to meet licensing requirements.

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Vitesse was almost sent into bankruptcy but was saved just minutes before the deadline on July 2.

Now the club has managed to win an appeal and keep their license and remain in professional football.

A statement read: “Vitesse has won its appeal against the summary judgment against the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association): the decisions of the licensing committee and appeals committee to revoke the license are suspended until a final judgment is reached.

“The Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal ruled that the revocation of Vitesse’s license is suspended and that Vitesse and the KNVB must admit Vitesse to professional football.

“This suspension means the club can start the 2025/2026 season in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie.

“The club has been working intensively on recovery and future sustainability in recent months.

“A new, independent supervisory board will be appointed as soon as possible, and Vitesse intends to amend its articles of association as soon as possible in line with the new restructuring plan.

“Efforts will also be made to complete the investigation into its intended shareholders by an external party, in compliance, as soon as possible.”

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Vitesse have been reinstated to the Keuken Kampioen Divisie – the second division in Holland.

However, the squad only has nine contracted players in it at the moment as many left after the club was originally expelled.

The numbers will be boosted by the help of local amateurs.

TEN players left the club between August 18 and September 1 to save their own careers.

German manager Rudiger Rehm and the bigwigs must work to bolster the squad.

However, he will be able to rely on former Manchester United defender Alexander Buttner.

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The full-back has been at Vitesse since August 2024 and chose to stay on with the club.

He told local media: “I have goose bumps all over.

“People have worked so hard for this. I’ve seen so much pain in recent weeks. I always said I wasn’t leaving Vitesse.

“I could have gone to 10 other clubs, which were concrete. But I thought: ‘I’d rather quit football than leave now’.”

The season is already four games in, and there is some work that needs to be done to organise Vitesse’s insertion.

Logistically, they could enter the fixtures on either September 12 or 13 which is when the next round of games take place.

Despite the problems that need to be quickly addressed, chairman Michel Schaay is “thrilled” with the chance for the club to have a future.

He said: “This ruling gives us relief and perspective.

“We are thrilled that the Court recognises the seriousness of the situation and has suspended the decisions.

“We remain fully committed to Vitesse’s future.

“Now, we must first engage in discussions with the KNVB to ensure that the right decisions are made by Vitesse and its stakeholders.”

Fans were also relieved at the news as they took to the streets to celebrate.

Many gathered at the Korenmarkt square in Arnhem to soak up the joy.

They could be heard chanting in celebration and letting off flares.

One bar was drunk dry by the joyful fans as a sign was put up reading “beer is gone”.

His relief comes after some experts had only given the club a one per cent chance of survival.

Vitesse was founded in 1892 and has been runners-up in the Eredivise four times in their history.

The club gained prominence in England after becoming a feeder club for Chelsea.

The Blues sent many players on loan to Vitesse in order for them to gain first-team football.

This included the likes of Mason Mount, Gael Kakuta, Tomas Kalas, Patrick van Aanholt, Lucas Piazon and Dominic Solanke.

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