Key figures
- Net revenue amounts to € 117.2 million, an increase of € 38.5 million due to higher football revenue and income from merchandising.
- Football revenue grew by €29.6 million as a result of the performances in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and the fact that almost all matches were played without an audience last season as a result of the corona measures.
- Expenses increased by €17.0 million to €97.0 million, mainly due to an increase in salary costs, competition-related costs, merchandise purchasing costs and net compensation related to the settlement with the Nouri family.
- The operating result therefore amounts to € 20.2 million.
- The contribution from player transfers to income was €14.7 million as a result of the transfers of Noa Lang to Club Brugge, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp to Hertha BSC and Kjell Scherpen to Brighton & Hove Albion.
- The profit after tax for the first half year amounts to € 2.5 million.
- Expectations: both the operating result and the result after tax are expected to be negative in the 2021/2022 season due to the impact of the ongoing corona crisis.
Departure Marc Overmars
Director of football affairs Marc Overmars made the decision to leave Ajax on 6 February 2022. He did this in connection with incidents regarding sexual misconduct.
On January 26, 2022, an employee informed the CEO that there was a potential issue with the director of football affairs. After receiving said information, the chairman of the Supervisory Board (SB) was notified. This happened on Thursday January 27, 2022, a day before the Special General Meeting of Shareholders (SGMS) in which the reappointment of the director of football affairs was discussed. At that time, there was only a single compliant, without any evidence, names or dates being mentioned. The nature and seriousness were not yet known at that time. There was consideration as to whether the SGMS should be postponed, but there was too little information at that time, which possibly would have led to a lot of unrest and questions that could not be answered.
Moreover, postponing the SGMS could be perceived as unsafe by the affected employees, which could be at the expense of finding the truth. An external independent expert was immediately brought in to assess the situation on January 27. The expert's advice showed that the confidentiality of the compliant was crucial for a careful investigation and the necessary determination of the facts at hand. It then took several days of external research and several conversations to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of the misconduct.
Allowing the SGMS to go ahead as planned was determined to pose no irreversible consequences. If the complaints were not sufficiently grounded, the reappointment would stand. If the complaints were proven to be well-founded, it would be possible to terminate the management agreement and to dismiss Overmars. Ultimately, Marc Overmars decided to resign himself. The Supervisory Board emphasizes that there is no redundancy scheme and that the fully prepaid signing fee of EUR 1.25 million must be repaid.
The misconduct itself is drastic for the women who have had to deal with it. Providing the necessary care is of great importance and this process has been initiated. Ajax will take steps towards a safer sports and work climate and will be assisted in this by an external specialized agency. This agency has launched an investigation and comes up with recommendations which are followed up with the help of expert third parties.