Media history is full of ironic transitions, but rarely are they captured as perfectly as on page 26 of the March 2014 FC Groningen matchday programme. Taking up the prestigious “Sponsor of the Match” slot is a full-page advertisement from the region’s largest newspaper, the Dagblad van het Noorden (DVHN). However, they weren’t using this premium print space to sell physical newspapers. They were selling the exact digital technology that would eventually render the matchday booklet obsolete.
The advertisement is a bold pitch for the “DVHN SPORT” app. Featuring images of a modern smartphone and a tablet, the headline promises: “Altijd het laatste sportnieuws bij de hand” (Always the latest sports news at hand). For €5 a month, fans could download the app via the App Store or Google Play and get instant updates. In the context of 2014, this was a massive shift. The club had just installed free Wi-Fi in the Euroborg (as we documented in a previous issue), and now the regional media giant was actively encouraging fans to look down at their glowing screens rather than reading the physical magazine in their hands.
It was a Trojan horse wrapped in glossy paper. The matchday programme, a staple of football culture for over a century, was essentially being paid to advertise its own digital executioner. Why wait for the manager’s printed column or the halftime statistics page when the DVHN app could push the live scores and post-match interviews directly to your pocket?
A Look into the Future
Looking at this advertisement from the vantage point of 2026 highlights the absolute triumph of the digital revolution. The transition teased on this page is now complete. Physical matchday programmes across Europe have largely been discontinued, replaced entirely by official club apps, digital ticketing, and instant social media updates. The Dagblad van het Noorden successfully navigated this transition, becoming a digital-first news organization. This 2014 advertisement remains a brilliant, highly ironic artifact: the exact moment the printed football magazine handed the baton over to the smartphone.