KNVB leads strong Beach Soccer growth in Netherlands

Holland has always been one of the best footballer manufacturers all over the world. The orange colour has traditionally been linked with the predilection for tasty, skillful and eye-catching play over the grass. The KNVB (Royal Netherlands Football Federation) wants this reputation to be transferred to beach soccer, too, and their system is yet giving all possible alternatives to beach soccer lovers. This is how the whole thing gets into motion. “We are aiming at developing Beach Soccer the further we can, because it is a sport with a huge potential”, as KNVB spokesman Tonny Dijkhuizen states. “We want to provide both all our members but also our potential members all kinds of football, to offer a broad range of possibilities. And beach soccer is a key one, because it is attractive for everyone”.

Of course, the geographical and environmental conditions of Netherlands do not make it easy. But with illusion and effort, everything can be done, as Dijkhuizen states: “We have no specific beach culture, since our weather conditions are worse than in many other countries. We have little sand time, because it is impossible to train in the beach for more than 6 months due the cold, rainy weather, so we have to make our way to work, and look for other solutions. But we are working really hard trying to close this gap.” Their goal, they know it well: “We want to become a regular in big tournaments, such as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup or the Euro Beach Soccer League Superfinal. This is our goal for the upcoming years”.

Beach Soccer in the Netherlands follows the tradition of taking care not only of the top national side, but also putting a lot of stress in formation. Indeed, in the national championships, the matches between teams under 12, under 13, under 14, and so on have become regular. And this is extremely good news.

The event held last weekend in The Hague, where The last Euro Beach Soccer League stage and the Crocs Challenge Cup 2010 coincided on the Beachstadion, was the best prove of the interest of the Dutch in Beach Soccer. “We are fully satisfied with how the event developed. The stadium has been full, regardless of the weather, and it has been the best promotion for this sport. Things have gone far beyond our expectations. The crowd was excellent; there were spectacular matches with amazing goals,… I firmly believe we have taken a great step forward”, welcomed the KNVB spokesman.