Before dedicated club apps with push notifications and biometric logins became the standard, fan engagement required a more cellular approach. In the 2014/2015 season, the race for the Essent Speler van het Jaar (Player of the Year) at FC Groningen was largely decided by fans pulling out their feature phones or early smartphones and sending a premium text message immediately after the final whistle.
The matchday programme reveals the exact mechanics of this mid-2010s ritual. Fans inside and outside the Euroborg were instructed to text “SMS GRO [space] RUGNUMMER” to the shortcode 4040. At a cost of 60 eurocents per message, this was a tangible financial commitment to supporting a favorite player. The results were tallied rapidly, and the winner was intercepted right on the pitch to receive a bouquet of flowers before being whisked away to the Business Lounge.
At the time of the FC Dordrecht match, the leaderboard was a fiercely contested battle between the creative engine Tjaronn Chery and the defensive rock Eric Botteghin, both tied at 17 points, with goalkeeper Sergio Padt closely trailing. The points system was cumulative over 17 home games, creating a season-long narrative that kept fans texting week after week. It was a golden era of physical interaction—a bridge between the analog applause of the 90s and the silent digital taps of the modern era.
A Look into the Future
The 2014/2015 season ended triumphantly with FC Groningen winning the KNVB Cup, cementing the legacy of players like Chery and Botteghin who soon moved on to international adventures. By 2026, the concept of paying 60 cents for an SMS vote seems incredibly archaic. Modern clubs, including FC Groningen, have integrated free, real-time polling directly into their official mobile apps or stadium Wi-Fi portals, monetizing engagement through data collection and in-app sponsor placements rather than direct telecom charges.