June 13 – Following weeks of speculation, US property tycoon Maciek Kaminski (pictured) has acquired Belgian club side KV Kortrijk for €17.5 million from Malaysia’s Vincent Tan. On Monday, Kortrijk started training for the new season without a proper coach, chairman and CEO, and unease about the ownership situation around the club, but Kaminski, once in talks about acquiring Everton, has bought the club from Tan, according to Insideworldfootball sources. The Malaysian bought the club in 2015 for €5 million.
The recent departure of coach Bernd Storck, followed by the exits of CEO Matthias Leterme and chairman Ronny Verhelst, had left Kortrijk without key leadership figures. English clubs Bournemouth and Burnley reportedly wanted to take control of Kortrijk, but Tan did not accept their offers.
On Monday, a statement said: “The club is also operationally active. The season ticket campaign has started. At this moment, 50% more season tickets have been sold than after last year’s opening weekend. The commercial partners reconfirmed their confidence in the club and the first phase of the construction of the training complex at the Kouterveld has started.
“We naturally understand all questions from our supporters regarding a possible takeover of the club. Today, unfortunately, we cannot give a definitive answer to that, in any direction.”
With the acquisition of Kortrijk, Kaminski expands his club ownership portfolio. Last year, he took control of the Greek top-flight club Panaitolikos. KV Kortrijk becomes the sixth club in Belgium with American owners. John Textor, Pacific Media Group and 777 own RWD Molenbeek, Kv Oostende and Standard Liege respectively while Club Brugge and second-division club Beveren also have American stakeholders.
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