Squad for Unity EURO Cup: Dutch players and newcomers together in one team

The squad of the Dutch national team for the very first Unity EURO Cup in their own country. - Foto: KNVB Media

The squad is complete for the very first Unity EURO Cup on Dutch soil. At the site where the Dutch national team normally trains, the team of Dutch players and newcomers will compete for the European title. The team is the result of a search that began with nearly 500 applications from across the country. Their opponents during the European Championship: eighteen European countries, each with a team of refugees and local players.

After intensive preliminary rounds, sixty players remained for the selection training. Last Sunday, they were given the opportunity to prove themselves under the guidance of KNVB WorldCoaches. Based on this, national coach and former professional footballer René van Rijswijk put together the final selection: a diverse team with players from the Netherlands, Syria, Sierra Leone, Turkey and Yemen. This team will represent the Netherlands during the tournament organised by UEFA and the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR in October.

Shared passion for football

The players have different backgrounds, but they share one passion: football. Some grew up with it, others only discovered it in the Netherlands.

Football makes me feel like I'm part of a new society

Rose (18) from Syria only started playing football at the age of fifteen. Three years later, she is already playing in Women's 1. ‘Football helps me get rid of negative energy,’ she says. For Maged (20), it was the other way around. He played at national level for Yemen. When he arrived in the Netherlands, he stopped playing, but with this team he is picking it up again.

Dutchman Waleed (23) grew up in Terneuzen, where football has always played an important role in his life. ‘It's an honour to represent the Dutch national team,’ he says. ‘I think it's great to play with people from different backgrounds and get to know new people.’

I think it would be great to meet new people

For Namina (23) from Sierra Leone, football has been part of her daily life since she was a child, when she played on the streets with her friends. What immediately struck her about Dutch football is how organised everything is. She now helps a youth team in her home country with clothing and good football facilities. Football also helped her feel at home in the Netherlands. ‘I met people from different countries, religions and with diverse sexual orientations. On the pitch, we are all just players with the same goal. That experience gave me confidence and the feeling that I am part of a new society.’

The Dutch national team on bicycles

Preparations for the European Championship have commenced. Led by René van Rijswijk, the team is training for the tournament at the Campus in Zeist. The uniforms are ready, and the first kilometres through the forests of Zeist have been cycled. When asked if everyone could cycle, the team responded with laughter: ‘Of course, we live in the Netherlands, don't we?’

UEFA and UNHCR are organising the Unity EURO Cup. The preliminary rounds in the Netherlands were organised by the Life Goals Foundation, UNHCR Netherlands and the KNVB.