Andy van der Meijde and Frank Stout

On a crispy autumn evening in October, the sponsor evening 2023 took place in the canteen of FC 's-Gravenzande. Maurice Steijn, trainer of Ajax, had been booked for a long time, but at the last minute Maurice indicated that - in relation to AJAX - he thought it would be wise to cancel. It is now old news and we know how Maurice and Ajax fared. Last minute we managed to get hold of former professional footballer Andy van der Meijde. The turnout of our sponsors was large, which we can of course greatly appreciate. The evening was opened by Ton van de Water, member of the organizing committee, and chairman Leo van der Lans was presented with a gift of 260 solar panels for the association on behalf of the members of BUSINESS2TOGETHER. A wonderful gift! Thank you again!

Frank Stout from RTV Rijnmond conducted the interview for the 7th time and this time with Andy van der Meijde. An open and honest interview in which the born Arnhemmer did not mince his words. Andy, born in a deprived area of Arnhem with an enormous football talent that took him via Ajax to Everton and the Dutch national team, among others. His career had many highlights, but he could not always handle the accompanying fame. His sensitivity to addiction did not help either. Andy told us funny, but also moving anecdotes from his life as a professional footballer. Trial and error is characteristic of him, but isn't this inherent to football and life in general? After his professional career ended around the age of 30, he found himself in a hole. His wife Melisa proved to be his salvation, for which he is grateful to this day. Andy rose again for the umpteenth time and became a TV and YouTube personality. His YouTube program 'With Andy in the car' scores huge views. Andy's success is related to his individuality, what you see is what you get and we like that. When Andy was asked if he would ever want to become a club coach himself, he immediately said 'no' to a question from the audience. He would like to be the connecting factor between players and trainer, something he says is needed by players. Partly because he knows the downside and temptations of fame better than anyone else.

Connecting, a nice bridge to our loyal sponsors. Partly because of them we can organize the INTERNATIONAL U14 TOURNAMENT for the 9th time. The youth have the future and they will shine again this edition on the grounds of FC 's-Gravenzande, with a beautiful field of participants. We wish you a lot of viewing pleasure. And sponsors: THANK YOU!