Now that the sporting part has started again, it is important that the competitions and therefore association life follow quickly. – Photo: KNVB Media
Amateur football is having a hard time because of corona. A third season in a row has been interrupted, but at the moment the 2021/’22 season has not yet been interrupted. The competitions in field and indoor football can even be played out in a normal way, provided we can resume them no later than the weekend of 5 and 6 February.
Why are the leagues so important to amateur football?
Fortunately, we can now train in a normal way in all age categories. So everyone can get moving again since the lockdown. That is very important, because exercise is healthy. In order to continue exercising, many athletes need a challenge, incentive or stick behind the door. You don’t register with a football club to aimlessly pass a ball, you want to play matches. Those extra meters in training are no problem at all because you want to win the victory for your team later on.
Reasoned the other way around: how long will training remain fun if there is no competition to train for? Some of our members have hung up their football boots over the past two years due to the lockdowns.
Community life
However, amateur football offers more than just physical fitness and sporting challenges, club life is of great importance for mental health and social contacts. It therefore serves a social interest and is a weapon in the fight against loneliness and depression. Also among the youth.
With 2,900 clubs and 1.2 million members, amateur football is the largest physical social network in the Netherlands. Every Dutch person lives on average only 1.6 kilometers away from a football club. That is unique in the world. Some clubs are more than a hundred years old and a total of hundreds of thousands of volunteers work together every week so that football can be played. At the same time, they also get to know new people and pick up new skills. Unfortunately, the value of this has sometimes become painfully clear in the periods when everyone was forced to sit at home.
Now that the sporty part has started again, it is important that the competitions and therefore association life follow quickly. That is why, together with the sports world, we have asked the cabinet to resume all competitions at the latest at the beginning of February. In view of all the reasons mentioned, we hope for a positive decision next Tuesday.
