Playing soccer & chilling

In the Bijlmer Sportpark resides Zuidoost United: a football club with over three hundred members, mainly driven by the efforts of volunteers. Rob’s task is to oversee the volunteer work. “I especially enjoy the contact with the people in our club.”Zuidoost United has a lot of teams: twenty boys’ teams, a girls’ team for girls aged nine and ten. “If that goes well, we will also start a girls’ team for the age group above. The ‘G-football’ for boys with a disability is very popular. And then there is also ‘walking football’ for the older residents of Amsterdam Zuidoost. The intention is to expand this with a social evening, with soup beforehand and, for example, checkers or chess.”

Enjoyment and playing good football

Rob lives in the neighborhood and started as a volunteer behind the bar five years ago. He liked it so much that he stayed. “It’s a cozy club. From the beginning, I felt welcome. The club is originally Surinamese, but now the background is more diverse, with many members of African descent. Until the time of the coronavirus, we used to have dinner together on Wednesday afternoons. A healthy and tasty meal. Up to eighty people would come. The meal can now be picked up at the clubhouse. Additionally, we want to train good football players, of course. With the youngest players, it’s all about having fun with the ball, but in the higher teams, we see players growing. Our chairman and head of football affairs, Donovan Hooghart, focuses on training the coaches. We aim to perform well so that players and coaches stay.”

You carry the club together

“We are very active, but the key is: retaining people in the long term. Our club’s success hinges on this. It is a national trend that people mainly do short tasks as volunteers. If we want to paint the building tomorrow, a hundred people will show up. However, working in the kitchen, behind the bar, in the board, or as a coach requires a longer period of commitment. We try to motivate people with training and courses. The intention is to also introduce an internship and volunteer allowance. Parental involvement is also important. After all, the association is carried by everyone together. Many parents are involved, but there is always room for more.”this photo was taken before corona

One pass – multiple sports

“My big wish is a ‘combined association’: You pay membership fees once and can then participate in multiple sports. For this, I want to collaborate with the other sports clubs in the Sports Park. I am very pro collaboration, you shouldn’t do everything alone. Baseball, American Football, skating: young people love variety. But soccer remains our main focus.”

Chilling

“Ultimately, Zuidoost United should become a neighborhood sports club. Young people will come to play sports, but also to hang out. We already see that on Saturdays many boys come an hour before the game and stay afterwards. We are also considering options like a punch card or a three-month subscription. Not everyone is interested in the obligation of competition. This way, we can reach more young people in the neighborhood. My motto has always been: Engage with young people. In the future, we would also like to have a youth board, and they are already contributing ideas in the activities group. Young people always have good ideas!”

Interview: Angélique Derks
Photos: Huub Zeeman

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