Marijn Beuker: Queen's Park director of football moves to Ajax
- Published
Marijn Beuker was joined by fellow Dutchman Robin Veldman at Lesser Hampden
Ajax have appointed Queen's Park director of football Marijn Beuker to the same role at the Eredivisie club.
The Dutchman joined Queen's Park in 2021, having previously been head of football development and strategy with AZ Alkmaar for eight years.
But the 39-year-old has returned to his homeland two years into a 10-year contract with the second-tier club.
He told his new club's website: "Ajax is a fantastic football club with a rich history and huge potential."
The 36-times Dutch champions have been in recent turmoil, finishing third last season and dismissing head coach Maurice Steijn after dropping into the relegation zone before moving up to eighth under interim boss John van 't Schip.
Beuker, who has signed a contract until July 2028, said his goal is to help bring "Ajax back to the top" in a role where he will be responsible for the youth academy and for the scouting and football analytics departments.
Ajax have split their technical director role into two and will look to add someone else primarily responsible for transfers and for managing their technical staff.
Queen's Park chief executive Leanne Dempster had targeted a place in the top flight after they turned professional following 152 years as an amateur side, with Beuker being appointed midway through the season during which they rose to the Championship via a play-off.
They narrowly missed out on a third successive promotion last season, finishing runners-up before losing in the Premiership play-off semi-final.
However, with Owen Coyle having been replaced with Dutchman Robin Veldman as head coach, they currently lie eighth, one place and one point above the relegation play-off spot.