HERA United and Telstar join forces to advance women’s football together
AMSTERDAM, July 4, 2024 – HERA United, the intended first professional women’s football club in the Netherlands, is joining forces with professional club Telstar starting from the 2024/’25 season to advance women’s football together. The collaboration with Telstar, which currently already competes in the Azerion Women’s Eredivisie and Women’s First Division, is an important milestone for HERA United to be able to enter professional football. The ambition is to compete independently as HERA United in both competitions from the 2025/2026 season onwards, if this becomes possible under KNVB regulations. For player development and talent development in the region, Telstar and HERA United will continue to collaborate long-term.
In brief:
HERA United and Telstar will collaborate with immediate effect;
HERA United maintains the ambition to participate independently in professional women’s football in the 2025/2026 season;
HERA United and Telstar will continue the youth academy jointly.
Shared vision and ambition Leon Annokkée, general director of Telstar about the collaboration: “At Telstar, women’s football has been an important pillar for years and we are very proud of everything we have built with limited resources. But for a smaller BVO like Telstar, it is becoming increasingly difficult in the long term to continue competing at the highest level, due to the tightening of license requirements and the substantial investment that is needed. The collaboration with HERA United is a win-win situation, an ultimate opportunity to continue our work in the field of women’s football while remaining relevant for girls in the region.”
Marieke Visser, founder of HERA United: “We want to raise the bar in women’s football in the Netherlands and show that long-term investment pays off. Telstar has laid a wonderful foundation over the past year to build upon. We look forward enormously to the collaboration and see this as an important step in our ambition to become an independent club for women. Moreover, it aligns well with our football vision, to seek collaboration with existing clubs, for example by strengthening the youth academy in the regions.”
Mission of HERA United HERA United wants equal opportunities in football. Women’s football is currently the fastest growing sport in the Netherlands, but players often still lack future prospects. HERA’s choice to invest in an independent professional women’s football club is focused on the enormous potential of this branch of sport: it offers the opportunity to let the sport grow further and develop female talent. Since HERA United approached the KNVB with this ambition in 2023, they have been in talks about the possibilities to enter professional football. The collaboration with Telstar is therefore a milestone.
Content of the collaboration HERA United will invest immediately in the teams and facilities, to strengthen Telstar Women for the coming season.
If it becomes possible for HERA United to become a BVO, a request will be submitted to the KNVB for this purpose. The intention is then for HERA United to independently take over a large part of Telstar’s women’s football activities.
The youth academy for girls, also known as Telstar Women Academy, will be continued jointly by Telstar and HERA United, giving young talents the opportunity to develop further and ultimately progress to the Reserves (First Division) and the Eredivisie team of HERA United.
Partly after intensive consultation with the KNVB, it is expected that HERA United will be able to participate independently in professional women’s football in the Netherlands in the 2025/2026 season. This collaboration brings the intended women’s football club a step closer to its goal and aligns with the broader mission to promote the advancement of women’s football in the Netherlands.
About HERA United HERA United is more than a football club for women; it is a movement committed to equal opportunities. As the number 1 popular sport, football is a reflection of our society. HERA United was founded to give women’s football the investment and boost it deserves. www.hera-united.nl
About Telstar 1963 NV Since 1963, Telstar has been THE professional football club of IJmuiden. The 711 Stadium forms the home base of the White Lions in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie and of the White Lionesses in the Azerion Women’s Eredivisie. However, Telstar is more than football. We embrace our community with passion and involvement, supported by our foundation ‘Telstar Thuis in de Wijk’ (Telstar Home in the Neighborhood). We also give our green touch to the world with the foundation ‘De Groene Leeuwen’ (The Green Lions). www.sctelstar.nl
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