Utrecht clears Moroccan-Dutch footballer’s foundation and releases 2026 grant
Dutch footballer of Moroccan origin Redouan El Yaakoubi has received a favorable decision in Utrecht. After a financial review by Deloitte, the city is maintaining its partnership with his youth support foundation and releasing the grant earmarked for 2026.
At the heart of the case are two organizations with very similar names. In 2020, Redouan El Yaakoubi founded Durf te Dromen (“Dare to Dream”), a foundation offering educational activities to young people in Utrecht, particularly in the Overvecht neighborhood. He also set up a commercial company, DTD, which bills schools for services.
In August 2025, an investigation by Follow the Money and the BOOS program revealed that the NUOVO school group had paid more than one million euros to the company in a single school year. The school group thought it was working with the foundation. The foundation, for its part, had received more than 300,000 euros in municipal grants.
The case led Utrecht to suspend some payments and commission a review of the flow of money between the foundation and the company. The footballer denies using the funds for personal purposes, but acknowledges that the similarity between the organizations’ names may have caused confusion. His company has since changed its name.
Utrecht maintains its support
In a letter to the city council, the city says Deloitte found no grounds to suspect that grants had been misappropriated in the transactions it reviewed between Durf te Dromen and DTD BV. The municipality has therefore decided to continue working with the foundation.
The decision means two concrete payments will be made: the 2026 grant is being released, and an invoice related to a careers forum held in 2025 will be paid. Payment had been suspended pending the investigation.
The municipality also announced a further review of other aspects of its relationship with the foundation. Deloitte, for its part, recommends closer monitoring of links between grant-funded organizations and associated commercial companies, particularly to identify potential conflicts of interest.
