How does a football club maintain its connection with its youngest fans when the season ends and the stadium doors close for the summer? Page 19 of the final matchday programme of the 2013/2014 season shows FC Groningen‘s brilliant strategy for year-round engagement through the Junior Club.
Under the headline “Doe mee aan de vakantiefoto wedstrijd!” (Join the holiday photo contest!), the club invites kids to take their green-and-white pride on vacation. “What are you going to do during your holiday? Let us know! Take a crazy photo of yourself,” the text reads, offering a prize for the best submission. To inspire them, the page features a photo of the previous year’s winner, Floris Wientjes, proudly holding an FC Groningen flag on top of a mountain peak. It is a simple but highly effective way to ensure the club remains a part of the family conversation even in July.
But before the summer holidays could begin, there was one final, massive task at the Euroborg. For the playoff final against AZ Alkmaar, the club pulled out all the stops, inviting a staggering 25 children to participate in the pre-match rituals. The FC Groningen escorts were: Stijn Velthuizen, Jasper Dekker, Romano Bruintjes, Rob Vegt, Lowie Tolner, Mike Camphuizen, Pascal Regtien, Jürgen Swijghuizen, Duncan van Leggelo, Justian van Leggelo, and Demian Dallinga. The AZ escorts included: Tijmen Ketellapper, Mathijs Kranenborg, Dominique Westerhoff, Daimy Smidt, Guusje Ottink, Koen Klunder, Thijs Jansen, Sebastiaan Hasper, Ilke Bloem, Massimo Nicolosi, and Chantal Nijboer. The referees were escorted by Remon Kip, Niek Wiebrands, and Jesper Venema.
A Look into the Future
Walking out onto the pitch for a European playoff final, surrounded by deafening noise and intense pressure, is an experience those 25 children will never forget. By 2026, they are young adults. The club’s strategy of making them feel like VIPs on the most important day of the year undoubtedly cemented their lifelong loyalty. Whether they took a photo with a club flag on a mountain that summer or simply cheered from the stands the following August, the Junior Club successfully ensured that the next generation of the green-and-white army was ready to march.