Bankrupt AGOVV removed from Dutch football

The Hague, Jan 12 (IANS) Dutch second level club AGOVV Apeldoorn decided not to appeal against its bankruptcy which resulted in permanent removal from Dutch professional football.

AGOVV was declared bankrupt on Tuesday by the court in Zutphen because it could not pay a tax debt of 400,000 euros ($530,000). The Dutch tax organisation had already filed for bankruptcy in December last year but AGOVV got time for a rescue plan which eventually was not approved, reports Xinhua.

The club discussed with the curator Friday about the possibilities for a new start. After that meeting it became clear that an appeal against the bankruptcy would make no sense.

AGOVV became a professional club in 1954 but returned to the amateur ranks in 1971. It returned to professional football in 2003. In that first season in the second pro league, called the Eerste Divisie, current Dutch international Klaas-Jan Huntelaar became top scorer with 26 goals on behalf of AGOVV.

However, AGOVV failed to impress in following years and was faced with financial problems. The amateur section of the club, which was founded in 1913, will continue.

The bankruptcy of AGOVV is already the third in Dutch pro football in three years, following HFC Haarlem (2010) and RBC Roosendaal (2011). The Dutch second division will continue with 17 clubs and the results against AGOVV will be scrapped.