SV Unitas’59 in Eindhoven has recently started working with ING to ensure that every child can play football. Other parties involved in this project are the KNVB, SchuldenlabNL, the VoorzieningenWijzer and the Dutch Debt Assistance Route.
Circumstances
Research shows that one in eleven children in the Netherlands grows up in poverty, which sometimes makes it difficult for parents to pay member fees and buy other necessities. Possible arrangements often exist, but these are not sufficiently known to parents and clubs.
From this season, Unitas’59 will have a financial contact person who will help families apply for the right local arrangements. The club believes that no one should be sidelined for whatever reason.
“At our club, we also notice that members sometimes cannot pay membership fees or buy football clothing. We think this is a great shame because financial worries should not be the reason why children cannot play football. We are happy that, assited by our financial contact person, we can help out”.
Finances
Steffen van Iersel, sponsorship manager at ING, is also happy with the collaboration. “There are sufficient arrangements nationally and locally that can help people with a tight budget to pay fees or buy clothing, for example. Some families do not know where to find that help”.
The financial contact person can be a volunteer from the club or an ING employee, who will help the club and the parents find the resources, according to Van Iersel. “Our goal is to have a financial contact person available at as many amateur clubs in the Netherlands as possible, to make the subject of financial worries a topic of discussion within the club”.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Seetha
