Vincent Tan makes new appointment after relegation as Cardiff City fans given hope for change
Vincent Tan has made a swift and drastic decision at KV Kortrijk after their relegation, with the Belgian club set to appoint a new CEO sports after firing their one who oversaw a disastrous campaign.
Tan has suffered the ignominy of overseeing two clubs getting relegated from the respective leagues, with KVK dropping out of the Jupiler Pro League and Cardiff City also suffering relegation from the Championship. On both fronts, Tan needs to act quickly and decisively in order to ready his clubs for promotion pushes next season.
The Bluebirds owner is looking for managers for both of his teams. KVK boss Bernd Storck has sensationally left the club, following their defeat in the relegation play-offs, to take charge of Cercle Brugge for their relegation play-off decider against Patro Eisden to stay in the top flight.
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Given KVK were fighting against Cercle Brugge just last week in the relegation play-offs, and Storck has taken over for just these two games, it's a rather stunning set of circumstances playing out over in Belgium. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community
As for Cardiff, their season tailed off under the management of Omer Riza, while interim Aaron Ramsey could not save the club from the drop, winning none of his three matches in charge, meaning City have now started what they believe is a rigorous process to find their own manager for the League One campaign.
The club have appointed a sub-committee comprised of Mark Allen, head of academy Gavin Chesterfield and one external appointment from sports agency Wasserman to help conduct the search for a new manager. You can read about that in detail here.
While some at the club want Cardiff to have a full-time director of football, or at the very least more football knowledge at the top end, Tan is understood to be reluctant. However there is hope that this is some comfortable middle ground which, if successful, could point the way towards a more permanent appointment in the future.
Indeed, the structure of Tan's club hierarchy in Kortrijk is evidence that he is open to the idea of appointing such personnel. It is, unfortunately, also proof that these appointments are not a silver bullet and it must be the right person in the right position.
Tan moved quickly to fire Pieter Eecloo, who held the position of CEO sports at KVK. Rik Foulon is the actual sporting director at the club, but worked closely with Eecloo to run the footballing side of things, with Tan and Ken Choo, who holds the position of managing director, overseeing things from a distance.
According to reports in Belgium, Nils Vanneste is set to become the club's new CEO sports, helping to drive KVK's push for promotion from the Belgian second tier next season.
Vanneste will join from Zulte Waregem, the club Joel Bagan spent a season on loan, where he was academy director. The 36-year-old previously held positions at KV Oostende and Beerschot.
Cardiff fans have long called for the club to have a better sporting infrastructure and seeing Tan appoint a new person to run the football operation in Kortrijk at least offers some hope that the door is not completely shut on that front at Cardiff.
Indeed, just this week, Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman said he would welcome the addition of more expertise in the field.
"Overall, I would say I would welcome more knowledge on football," he added. "After all, this is a football club and the more people it has who understand football the better it is. We're striving towards that.'
Bluebirds fans, as well as many within the club — Aaron Ramsey himself has spoken openly about the need for someone on the ground, running the day-to-day football operation — will hope that the sub-committee, coupled with Tan's commitment to a more rigorous-looking football structure in Belgium, perhaps represents a stepping stone in the right direction. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
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Fagbenle, the captain of Team Great Britain, hopes that FIBA and the WNBA will collaborate going forward, so that players aren't forced to choose between country and club teams. 'Two major entities that I would hope would want to work together to figure out a way to make things work for the players who want to play them both,' she said. 'I'm optimistic.' Earlier this month, FIBA announced it was shifting the 2030 World Cup to late November and early December, while the 2026 World Cup is set to take place in early September, creating a potentially significant scheduling conflict for the WNBA. The WNBA may take a brief hiatus just before the 2026 playoffs, although the scheduling specifics will also need to be collectively bargained with the players' association. The league's players, including top American players, may have to make difficult decisions ahead of the most critical time on the WNBA calendar. Advertisement Faced with the decision to stay or leave for this month's EuroBasket, some foreign players have elected to remain with their WNBA teams. Golden State's Linskens and Leite are staying in the U.S. to focus on their first seasons. Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams will stay to compete in her first full WNBA season since 2022, and Storm rookie Dominique Malonga, the No. 2 pick in April's draft from France, will also continue her WNBA season. 'I think my rookie season is important and I wanted to leave it all with the team,' Malonga said. Added Leite: 'I think everybody who is born in Europe is also now having the dream to come to the WNBA, so everybody's just super grateful.' Yet as more international players join the WNBA, an inverse situation is occurring abroad. Over the last 15 years, WNBA greats such as Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Sylvia Fowles played multiple winter seasons on professional teams in Turkey, China and Russia. However, the era of top Americans playing abroad appears to be fleeting. Unrivaled, the professional 3×3 league that debuted in January, provides players with a high-paying U.S.-based alternative. The result of American stars not going abroad is already being felt, according to first-year Connecticut Sun coach Rachid Meziane. 'I think overseas domestic leagues are going down a little bit because there are fewer good players because the best players in the world are here,' said Meziane, who is the WNBA's first French-born head coach. Uzun spent the past season with the Turkish power Fenerbahçe, and she sees a change, too. 'It affects us, especially in EuroLeague,' she said. 'It does affect the quality of the league and the competition. But if you're gonna ask me individually, is (their presence) more important (than) their mental (health) and (spending time with) their families? I'm glad they can choose that now. They have enough power to choose that and make that decision.' Advertisement Players from different continents now have more options than ever for professional play. But as it relates to the summer calendar, the pull of the WNBA appears stronger than ever before. 'Perception has changed,' said Zandalasini, who returned to the WNBA last year after a five-year hiatus. 'The WNBA is growing so fast, and there are fans definitely coming to every game everywhere, so it's more appealing as a league.' — The Athletic's Sabreena Merchant contributed to this report. (Photo of Carla Leite: Juan Ocampo / NBAE via Getty Images)
