European Championship in our own country should give Dutch indoor football an impulse: ‘Proud of what it says, a kind of NBA setting’

The Dutch team plays the three group matches in the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, where there is room for more than 10,000 spectators. But on Wednesday, in the opening game Serbia-Portugal and the game between the Orange and Ukraine, the stands remain empty. The same applies to the duels in MartiniPlaza in Groningen, the second location of the European Championship. ,,We wanted to reach more viewers than ever at this European Championship”, says De Jong. “You can still do that, on TV.”

The European title fight should ensure that futsal in the Netherlands receives a boost in several areas. The KNVB wants to improve the image of futsal and show that it is top sport. ,,It’s an attractive sport, I saw that up close during friendly matches”, said De Jong. “We would like to get more young people in the Netherlands to play futsal. Especially in the big cities, because we see that it is often more difficult for young people with a non-Western cultural background to find their way to indoor football.”

De Jong had put the numbers neatly in a row. The Netherlands currently has nearly 50,000 futsal players affiliated with the KNVB. In addition, there are about 300,000 compatriots who practice the sport at a recreational level. ,,It would be nice if the number of players affiliated with the KNVB increases later on.” The TV viewers, who will be able to visit the NOS in the coming weeks, will see a flashy hall. The floor that the Orange squad will soon be playing on is not new for the internationals, because it is also located on the KNVB Campus in Zeist.

Gijs de Jong: ,,We think it looks fantastic, with a kind of setting like in the NBA (American basketball league, ed.). We are very proud of what it has now, here in Amsterdam and also in Groningen.” The twelfth European Championship Futsal has sixteen participants for the first time, who are divided into four groups. The top two of each group advance to the quarter-finals. For Orange, 22nd in the UEFA ranking, reaching the last eight is the first goal. With three opponents higher on that ranking, that is already a difficult task.

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