By Samindra Kunti
May 1 – Anderlecht chairman Roger Vanden Stock (pictured) is the new president of the Pro League, the Belgian association of top-flight clubs. The Pro League’s general assembly elected Pierre Francois as managing director.
Roger Vanden Stock is the son of the late Constant Vanden Stock, the legendary longtime chairman of R.S.C. Anderlecht, Belgium’s most successful club, both at home and abroad. The Vanden Stock family owned beer brewery Belle-Vue, renowned for its kriek beer.
In 1996 Roger Vanden Stock replaced his father as the supremo of the Brussels-based club. Roger Vanden Stock is the only Anderlecht chairman to have never played for the club.
Vanden Stock succeeds Peter Quaghebeur, who was a temporary Pro League president after the departure of businessman Michel Dupont in October 2014. The Anderlecht chairman has a mandate for two years. Van den Stock received the backing of 14 [out of 16] top-flight clubs.
“We will discuss with Roger Vanden Stock what his programme will be, but he is an authority in Belgian football and the Pro League needed someone like him,” explained Kortijk chairman Joseph Allijns. “There was a need for someone with charisma.”
“If you want to move forward, you have to find a consensus and think of the general welfare,” said Allijns.
“I will actively work to improve the unity in the Pro League and to implement the necessary reforms in professional football,” said Vanden Stock.
“But I also want to enter into constructive discussions with all the divisions of the Belgian FA to further develop Belgian football,” continued the 73-year-old. “My presidency will be for the common good.”
Pierre François will assist the newly elected president as the managing director of the Pro League. François has experience from his time at Standard Liege, where he served as managing director from 2003 until 2012. Last year Francois managed second division club Mons.
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