Before the absolute dominance of smartphone push notifications and dedicated club apps, engaging with the crowd during a match required a more rudimentary technology: the premium SMS. In the spring of 2015, the race for the Essent Speler van het Jaar (Player of the Year) was heavily reliant on fans pulling out their phones in the stands of the Euroborg and texting a four-digit shortcode.
During the home match against FC Twente, the fans crowned young winger Mimoun Mahi as the Man of the Match, capturing 24% of the vote to edge out defender Lorenzo Burnet (21%) and midfield maestro Tjaronn Chery (11%). The mechanics of the vote are a nostalgic time capsule of mid-2010s fan engagement.
To cast a vote, supporters inside and outside the stadium had to text “GRO [Space] SQUAD NUMBER” to 4040. Crucially, this expression of fandom came with a price tag: 60 eurocents per message. The winner was announced immediately after the final whistle, with the chosen player receiving a call on the pitch and having to report to the Business desk at the main entrance. At this point in the season, Chery was leading the overall standings, reflecting his talismanic influence on the team that would eventually lift the KNVB Cup.
A Look into the Future
By 2026, the idea of paying 60 cents to cast a Man of the Match vote via SMS seems almost archaic, replaced entirely by frictionless, free voting via official club apps and social media integrations. Mimoun Mahi, who was just beginning to make his mark in 2015, went on to become a crucial, highly technical attacker for Groningen before embarking on adventures in Switzerland and the Eredivisie sub-top. Yet, for fans of a certain age, the memory of hastily typing “GRO 10” while standing in the Z-Side cold remains a distinct tactile memory of a beloved era.