Chris Woerts Warns Dutch Top Clubs Over Bloated Staff and Eredivisie Format
Dutch clubs are carrying bloated payrolls while their standing on the European coefficient list slips to eighth, threatening direct qualification spots for continental tournaments, sport marketer Chris Woerts reported on SBS6 program Nieuws van de Dag.
The decline in European performance contrasts sharply with administrative expansion across the Eredivisie’s traditional powers. According to figures cited by Woerts, Ajax employs 463 workers, Feyenoord lists nearly 400 personnel, and PSV maintains a staff of 355.
Personnel Numbers and Comparative Costs
Ajax leads the domestic game in total headcount with 463 employees. Feyenoord follows closely with nearly 400 staff members, while PSV operates with 355 employees. Woerts questioned the necessity of these figures during his broadcast appearance, noting that clubs require primarily eleven starters and reserves, alongside expanded technical staffs, media operations, scouting departments, and commercial offices.
As Ajax Showtime noted, Woerts contrasted these numbers with Belgian side Club Brugge. That club operates on a smaller overall budget while employing roughly half the personnel—210 workers—while maintaining competitive results and a youth academy.
Woerts also criticized investments outside the men’s first team, stating that the average supporter cares little for club-run social projects or women’s football operations. Clubs are judged strictly by pitch performance rather than community outreach, according to that broadcast commentary.
UEFA Ranking Drop Threatens European Group Stage Revenue
The Netherlands has dropped to eighth place on the UEFA coefficient ranking. Woerts warned that falling below tenth position will strip Dutch football of any guaranteed, direct entries into European group stages, resulting in severe revenue losses.
The financial stakes compound warnings issued elsewhere in Dutch football. Jan de Jong of the Eredivisie CV stated in the Algememeen Dagblad—as highlighted by Soccernews.nl—that clubs have been formally warned about upcoming summer qualifying burdens. Next season, the domestic runner-up must navigate early preliminary rounds, and the third and fourth-place finishers face six qualification matches requiring peak fitness as early as July.
FC Twente technical director Erik ten Hag echoed similar cautions regarding European margins, pointing to recent Dutch defeats against opponents such as Qarabağ and Ferencváros.
Proposed Eredivisie Overhaul
To generate higher resistance and competitive readiness, Woerts advocates for a reduced Eredivisie format consisting of 14 or 16 teams, replacing the traditional 18-club structure. While acknowledging a lack of immediate domestic consensus for downsizing, he pointed to UEFA’s successful redesign of continental competitions as a working blueprint.
Following that initial phase, the top six clubs would contest a double round-robin tournament among themselves to decide European qualification places, prioritizing marquee fixtures over matches against lower-tier opposition.
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