Vitesse

Vitesse, founded in 1892, is the second oldest professional football club still in professional football in the Netherlands, after Sparta Rotterdam who were formed in 1888. The roots of Vitesse actually pre-date Sparta by a year as in 1887, a club with the name "Arnhemsche cricket- en voetbalvereeniging Vitesse" was formed by a group of high school students who played their sport on the Rijnkade, overlooking the River Rhine in the city centre. Reluctant to choose a Latin or English name for the club as they felt those languages were too elitist, they picked the French word Vitesse, meaning "speed".

In 1891 the club disbanded as they were no longer able to find anywhere suitable to play cricket after a velodrome was built on their usual playing field in the Klarenbeek Park. The following year a group of wealthy students resurrected the sports club, this time with the name AVC (Arnhemse Voetbal en Cricketclub) Vitesse. In the summer they played cricket and in the winter football. At the end of 1892, Vitesse played its first real football match, and in 1894 Vitesse disbanded the cricket branch. In 1895 and 1896 Vitesse became champions of the Gelderland competition. From the foundation of the Netherlands national football championship in 1898 until 1954, the title was decided by play-offs by a handful of clubs who had previously won their regional league. Vitesse lost the final of the national championship six times (1898, 1899, 1903, 1913, 1914 and 1915).

In 1912, Vitesse reached the final of the Dutch Cup Tournament for the first time. Vitesse lost the final with 0–2 from HFC Haarlem. In this period Vitesse had top players, likes Willem Hesselink and Just Göbel. These players were also active in the Netherlands national team. In 1914 John William Sutcliffe became the first foreign trainer.

During World War II, Vitesse did not play-official matches because playing football in the open air was forbidden. During the Battle of Arnhem, the residents of the city were forcibly evicted from their homes, allowing the Germans to turn the north bank of the Rhine into a heavily defended line. Residents were not allowed to return home without a permit and most did not return until after the war. The football field and clubhouse was completely destroyed. The damage was repaired in the years after the liberation.

In 1984 it was decided to divide the professional and amateur sections of the club. The professional section was renamed SBV (Stichting Betaald Voetbal – "Professional Football Foundation") Vitesse whilst the amateur section became "Vitesse 1892", which lasted until they went bankrupt in 2009.

From 1984, Karel Aalbers was the president of SBV Vitesse. Aalbers' goal was to bring Vitesse from the bottom of the Second League (Eerste divisie, now Keuken Kampioen Divisie), the league in which the club originated, to the top 40 football clubs of Europe. He developed the basic idea for the 'GelreDome', a stadium with a sliding pitch that can be moved out of the building. Later, the same system was applied in Gelsenkirchen (Schalke 04) and in Japan. Events such as pop concerts can be held without damaging the grass. Gelredome opened on 25 March 1998, when Vitesse played NAC and won 4-1. It has a roof that can be opened and closed, and is fully climate controlled as well. In the first season after the opening, Gelredome's attendance rose to 20,000, (from less than 8,000 in the old stadium).

Vitesse made their debut in European competitions in 1990. The club won their first match in the first round 1–0 over Derry City.

The club remained financially sound through making notable profits on the transfer market. Players such as Roy Makaay, Sander Westerveld, Nikos Machlas, Glenn Helder and Phillip Cocu were sold for large sums of money. Others came to occupy empty player positions, such as Mahamadou Diarra and Pierre van Hooijdonk. Vitesse finished in the top four positions, made profits and showed a solid balance sheet in the final years of Aalbers' presidency. Also, the club became regular competitors in the UEFA Cup and in 1997–1998 finished third in the Eredivise, its record highest finish to date.

Herbert Neumann was Vitesse's manager over most of these years (1992–95 and 1998–99), while star players included: Nikos Machlas, the first ever Vitesse player to win the European Golden Boot in 1998 when he scored 34 goals in a season; John van den Brom, who played 378 matches for Vitesse during this period scoring 110 goals from midfield; and Edward Sturing, who played 383 matches in defence for Vitesse from 1987 to 1998, as well as receiving 3 caps for the Netherlands national team. Additional stars included Dejan Čurović, who spent six years at Vitesse playing 109 matches as a striker, scoring 41 goals including the first goal in GelreDome. Meanwhile, Dutch forward Roy Makaay spent four years at Vitesse, scoring 42 goals in 109 matches between 1993 and 1997.

Aalbers was forced to resign on 15 February 2000, after the main sponsor, Nuon, threatened to pull the plug if he did not. Nuon, as a public utility company owned by local authorities, had trouble explaining why it invested heavily in Aalbers' ambitious plans. Eventually, Nuon pulled the plug on Vitesse in 2001, and the club had to be saved by a group of investors. After Aalbers' resignation, Jan Konings (former chief of Sara Lee/DE) was named interim president until a new candidate could be found. Four months later, Vaessen was named president and Konings resigned. In a short period of time, Vitesse began to show negative financial results due to poor deals on the transfer market. The club had to be saved again in 2003, with the county providing a loan. The club survived numerous financial crises, such as the one in 2008, when debts were bought off, under the threat of bankruptcy.

The club was in serious financial trouble, and in August 2010 its majority shareholder agreed to sell the club to the Georgian businessman Merab Jordania. There were reports in The Guardian and various news outlets that this purchase was engineered by former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

On 1 July 2012, Fred Rutten signed a contract as the new manager of Vitesse for the season 2012-13. Rutten left Vitesse after the season, finishing in fourth place. Wilfried Bony ended the season as the Eredivisie's top scorer with 31 goals in 30 matches and was awarded the Golden Shoe for the best player in the Netherlands.

For the 2013–14 season, Vitesse appointed Peter Bosz as its new manager. In October 2013, Merab Jordania sold his shares in the club to Russian billionaire Alexander Tsjigirinski. In November 2013, Vitesse was top of the league in the Eredivisie for the first time since 2006. It was the first time since 2000 they'd been top of the league later than the first week. Halfway through the season, after 17 matches, Vitesse was the leader in the competition. Key players in the squad from this period included Davy Pröpper, Christian Atsu and Bertrand Traoré.

Vitesse announced on 13 June 2016 that Henk Fraser would replace Bosz at the start of the 2016–17 season. In his first full season, he won the club's first major trophy in its 125-year existence. Fraser defeated AZ by a score of 2−0 in the final of the KNVB Cup, with two goals from Ricky van Wolfswinkel. On 5 August 2017 Vitesse were beaten 1–1 (4–2 pen.) at De Kuip, Rotterdam in the Johan Cruyff Shield final by Feyenoord. In the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage, Vitesse's opponents were Lazio, Nice and Zulte Waregem. Vitesse ultimately finished the group stage in fourth place. In October 2017, Guram Kashia wore a rainbow-striped captain's armband for Vitesse against Heracles Almelo in support of LGBT rights, leading to a backlash in his own country. In August 2018, he became the inaugural recipient of UEFA's #EqualGame award for his act. In 2018, board member Valeri Oyf bought the club, with apparent financial help from Roman Abramovich.

In 2021, after beating VVV-Venlo in the semi-final, Vitesse reached the KNVB Cup Final for the fifth time in their history. Vitesse lost the final 2–1 to Ajax. Vitesse finished the 2020–21 Eredivise season in fourth place. In July and August 2021, Vitesse qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League. Vitesse knocked-out Dundalk (2-2 and 2–1) and Anderlecht (3-3 and 2–1) in the qualifiers. On 27 August, Vitesse was drawn on Group G of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League alongside Tottenham Hotspur, Rennes and Mura. Vitesse eventually placed second in the group, advancing to the knockout round play-offs. Vitesse won the knockout round play-offs against Rapid Wien 3-2 on aggregate before losing to AS Roma in the round of 16.

In 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, owner Valeri Oyf decided to sell the club. A deal was reached between Oyf and Coley Parry, an American investor. After a lengthy investigation, the KNVB eventually rejected the sale, despite Parry having already invested millions into the club. Parry then demanded the money back from Vitesse. Guus Franke, a Dutch businessman, negotiated with Parry regarding the debts and a potential takeover of Vitesse. That deal eventually collapsed. A deal was finally reached in 2025, with a group of 5 investors all taking a minority share and Parry fully withdrawing from the club.

Towards the end of the 2023–24 Eredivisie season, Vitesse was relegated after an eighteen‑point deduction imposed by the KNVB for failing to comply with licensing requirements amid ongoing financial issues related to the club's sale. During the 2024–25 Eerste Divisie season, Vitesse received a further 39‑point deduction, of which 12 were for the 2025-26 season due to appeal rules, which contributed to their bottom‑place finish. In the aftermath, the KNVB initiated proceedings in June 2025 to revoke the club's professional license, citing unresolved financial irregularities related to investor Coley Parry, and on 11 June revoked the license, with Vitesse appealing the decision. Another response came in the form of a proposed takeover led by Dutch regional investors under "Plan Sterkhouders", chaired by Michel Shaay, aimed at restoring the club's financial stability. Vitesse signed a cooperation agreement with CROP accountants on 4 June. On 21 June the regional investors and foreign owners reached an agreement subject to KNVB approval, which—if ratified—would have marked Vitesse's return to Dutch ownership for the first time since 2010. On the same day, Rüdiger Rehm was appointed as the club's new manager. The club submitted a temporary budget proposal for the deadline of 16 June and had until 3 July to supplement it. On 9 July, the club was deducted 12 points for the upcoming season due to a failed appeal. Timo Braasch, interim director and one of the 5 owners of the club, stepped down on 27 July as director in an apparent attempt to appease the KNVB ahead of the appeal ruling. On 31 July 2025 the club officially lost its appeal and was no longer a professional club, with the Royal Dutch Football Association claiming that the "Plan Sterkhouders" agreement came too late. The club went to court to try to get its license back. An emergency hearing took place on 7 August in Utrecht, a day before the new season started, with the decision being made public on 8 August. The club's efforts were supported by supporters and the community of Arnhem, including a special bus transport from Arnhem to the courthouse in Utrecht. On the day of the trial, the court accepted requests from supporters and social organizations to add themselves to the lawsuit.

The emergency hearing began on 7 August 2025 at 13:30 in the court of Middle-Netherlands in Utrecht. Club icons, such as Karel Aalbers, John van den Brom, Nicky Hofs, Theo Janssen, Jan Snellenburg, and Edward Sturing and people involved with the current organization of the club, such as Timo Braasch, Michel Shaay, and the current squad appeared at the court to attend the hearing. According to Vitesse's, Shaay's, and the supporters' lawyers, the KNVB was too harsh with their penalty and did not have ground for the decision, since Vitesse informed the KNVB of everything. They also argued the penalty was out of proportion, citing the 2016 FC Twente case. The KNVB lawyers' pushed back, arguing that it had the right to punish Vitesse in this way, cited examples of Vitesse not informing the KNVB, and said that the FC Twente case was not applicable. The next day, the court announced that Vitesse had lost the emergency hearing. Michel Shaay, who is still eyeing to become owner of Vitesse, said there are plans to continue as an amateur club using the team's youth divisions. Before the end of the month, Vitesse announced that its first team would not take part in any competition in the 2025-26 season, but that it would continue playing in the youth divisions. At the end of August, protesting supporters of the club threw smoke bombs during two matches in the Eerste Divisie to protest the KNVB's decision.

On 3 September 2025, Vitesse provisionally regained their licence as they won an appeal. According to the court of Arnhem-Leeuwarden, the decision to revoke Vitesse's licence came under a large amount of time crunch, due to which the procedures were not followed carefully enough, and the court working on the proceedings on the merits has a chance of ruling as such. Per this decision, Vitesse were to be let back into the league immediately. Since this decision was a turbo-urgent appeal, the club does not fully get their licence back, as that decision will be decided by the proceedings on the merits at a later date. After the result of the appeal was made public, a lot of amateur and out-of-contract players reported to Vitesse to try and further their careers.

The club began the 2025-26 Eerste Divisie season on -12 points, a result of appeal rules.