The treasurer of the Dutch governing body (KNCB), Steven Hartman, today gave an up-beat assessment of the financial prospects for the coming year. Introducing the 2006 budget at the KNCB�s autumn general meeting, he suggested that the Bond is on track to achieve its target of a reserve of around �200-250k. beyond 2007.

Current projections are that the KNCB will end 2005 with a much smaller operating deficit than had been budgeted for: �20.1k. rather than the �80.3k originally provided for. This is partly due to an extra �42k from the principal sports funding body in The Netherlands (NOC/NSF), partly through smaller additional sums elsewhere in the budget, and partly through lower expenditure under a number of headings.

The total budget for 2006 is �953k., an 11% increase on the 2005 budget and fully 21.5% above the projected turnover for the current year. This higher volume is to a large extent the result of Dutch qualification for the 2007 World Cup, the income from the High Performance Programme and the costly international fixtures which it helps finance.

Hartman stressed, however, that the Board had been able to produce a �broadly balanced� budget � the planned operating deficit for 2006 is only �11k. � and that even this was conservative in a number of respects. It takes no account, for example, of sponsorships accruing from World Cup participation, commercial partnerships, or anticipated increases in revenue from television rights.

Earlier, KNCB chairman Ren� van Ierschot had told the meeting that negotiations over possible commercial partnerships were at an advanced stage, and that further announcements could be expected in the near future.