Edwin van der Sar has voluntarily stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer of Dutch club Ajax on Tuesday, May 30.
Edwin van der Sar, a former Manchester United goalie joined Ajax’s board in 2012 and was appointed as the club’s CEO in 2016.
Under the watch of the 52-year-old Dutch football administrator, Ajax used to be the perennial winner of the Eredivisie, the Dutch elite league but failed to do so in the 2022-2023 season. To make matters worst, the club finished in the third spot in the league, which means that they would not qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2009.
However, Ajax are still in contention to play in the Europa League next season but they have to go through the play-offs.
When announcing his resignation from Ajax, Edwin van der Sar said, “We have experienced wonderful things together, but it has also been an incredibly tough period.
“I feel the need to take some distance, to get some rest, and to do other things. It doesn’t feel good to take decisions about the future of this wonderful club in the coming period. That is why I have decided to resign.”
Ajax were the Eredivisie champions in the previous two seasons but finished the 2022–23 season 12 points behind first-placed Feyenoord and six points behind second-placed PSV Eindhoven. Before now, the club has been finishing in the top two teams for 14 years.
They were unable to proceed past the Champions League group stages this season and also lost in the play-off for the Europa League elimination round to the German team Union Berlin.
