Appeal to politicians: Sport does not happen by itself!

In the run-up to the elections for the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), the Dutch sports sector is making a joint appeal to the political parties: pay more attention to sport! Under the motto ‘Sport gaat niet vanzelf’ (Sport does not happen by itself), NOC*NSF (the Dutch Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation) and POS (Platform Ondernemende Sportaanbieders, the platform for commercial sports providers), among others, are urging a more active policy to get and keep the Netherlands moving. The VA, a member of both organisations, wholeheartedly supports this appeal.

In recent years it has been widely established that the Netherlands is facing a physical activity crisis. Partly as a result of the coronavirus measures that had to be taken, the number of people in the Netherlands taking part in sport declined. People who do still take part in sport often do so for fewer hours per week. Children too have become structurally less active. The accessibility of sport also requires attention: children from low-income families still take part in sport less often than children of parents who are better off.

There is a physical activity crisis. If no active policy is pursued, this situation will become permanent. That will lead to developmental harm for children, more health damage among adults and higher healthcare costs for society.

As part of this campaign, politicians have been paired with athletes for meetings in which this message is conveyed. Every party is called upon within this campaign to take action. As a representative of the martial arts, kickboxing icon Rico Verhoeven this week received VVD party leader Dilan Yeşilgöz.

The outgoing Minister of Justice and Security is enthusiastic about kickboxing. “It is not only good for your fitness, but also for what it does for you mentally. It gives you a great deal of self-confidence. And what you learn in the dojo is not only the sport itself, but also respect, and lessons you can put to very good use in real life as well.”

The Glory world champion urged the politician to pay attention to the accessibility of the sport. Growing up in a low-income family still too often means taking part in less sport. Yeşilgöz stressed the importance of cooperation between schools, gyms and clubs in solving this problem.

The campaign’s appeal to all political parties is: invest in sport in the forthcoming coalition agreement, so that together we can maintain and strengthen the positive effect of sport and physical activity on our society. That will pay for itself many times over.

The campaign Sport gaat niet vanzelf is an initiative of NOC*NSF, Platform Ondernemende Sportaanbieders, Maatschappelijke Organisaties Sport, KNVB (the Royal Dutch Football Association), Sportkracht12 and Vereniging Sportbedrijven Nederland. It has been developed with the cooperation of knowledge partners Mulier Instituut and Kenniscentrum Sport en Bewegen (the Dutch knowledge centre for sport and physical activity).

Photo above: Rico Verhoeven with Dilan Yeşilgöz during the recording of the campaign clip. On the far left, VA board member Diederik van Omme