Monday the 4th of December Orange Sports Forum presented the yearbook Holland Sports & Industry 2017/2018 at Knowledge Centre for Sport Netherlands in Ede. With a great number of guests and very promising speakers it was a very successful meeting.
The meeting started with a welcome speech of Mr. John van de Laar. John also gave a review on last year with the developments and opportunities in the sport sector. Some examples are the growing export figures, the creation of jobs and the organization of several (international) sport events. OSF and Knowledge Centre for Sport Netherlands are already talking about a more intensive cooperation to bring institutions and business together on a national and international scale.
Next the brand new director of the knowledge Centre for Sport Netherlands Mr. Bert van Oostveen (former director of the Royal Dutch Football Association) welcomes everyone. Bert van Oostveen stressed the importance of the collaboration between institutions, business and governments and of course the opportunities in international perspective. Mr. Peter Barendse showed interesting information and ideas about the role the Knowledge Centre for Sport Netherlands in export. They developed the ‘’guide to Sports and Physical Activity in the Netherlands’’ to give an interesting insight in recreational sport in the Netherlands. It’s also possible to view the guide online by the following this link.
Ms. Mary Kok-Willemsen started her enthusiastic presentation about the Holland Football University and the Football Equals Foundation. Driven by her passion for football Mary fights for the equal rights for men and women in football, as well as equality for children. Thanks to training and presentations or setting up football schools she tries to achieve equality in football. Furthermore Mr. Camil Smeulders showed the guests last years sports successes and looked forward to what 2018 will bring. A few examples are the Olympic winter games in PyeongChang and the amazing talent of our youngest Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen.
Last but not least, Mr. Michael van Praag addressed the audience with an interesting presentation and speech. As president of the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association) and the ‘NLsportraad’ and several functions within UEFA and FIFA. He’s one of the most influential sport directors of the Netherlands. Van Praag told several fascinating anecdotes of the successful role of sport in trade missions and diplomatic issues between international governments. Naturally he presented the policy goals of the sports council ‘NLsportraad’. The main goal is increasing the feasibility for large sport events in the Netherlands.
After the interesting and inspiring presentations the official part followed, the first copies of the yearbook Holland Sports & Industry 2017/2018 were presented to Michael van Praag, Bert van Oostveen and Annika Brouwer (Athlon). The meeting ended with an informal network drink.
Orange Sports Forum would like to show gratitude to all guests for their contribution. A special thanks goes out to Knowledge Centre for Sport Netherlands for hosting the meeting!
