Diving teams from all over the Netherlands were competing this Sunday in the Dutch Underwater Soccer Championships at swimming pool De Tongelreep in Eindhoven. “At first glance it looks easy, but it’s not,” explains underwater soccer player Roeland.
A weighted diving suit, a ball filled with salt water and a deep pool: it forms the basis of underwater soccer. But the most important thing? “Fun diving teams that want to take part, because it’s mainly about having fun.”
Sixteen teams gathered in Eindhoven on Sunday for the NK Underwater Soccer. “They come from all corners of the Netherlands. There were even a few divers from Belgium,” said the diver from Duikteam Eindhoven.
Corona
Wesley Voets is proud. He is the team captain of the Eindhoven team and co-organiser of the championship. The previous edition was in 2019. “Due to corona, the annual championship could no longer take place. We decided to pick it up again now.”
Heavy
A quick dribble or hard shot on goal is impossible with this sport. Underwater football is quite tough. “A game lasts only five minutes for a reason. The ball weighs a lot, to make sure it doesn’t float,” says Wesley.
“And every diver carries lead. For me, that’s about 10 kilos,” Roeland adds. “So you can run across the bottom. Or well, run is a big word. It’s actually just a bit faster than swimming.”
It looks like the players are playing football in slow motion, but underwater football takes quite a lot of strength. Roeland: “In the end, it comes down to mutual cooperation and tactics.”
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Shanthi Ramani
