Combat sports icon Bonjasky delivers Sportieve Troonrede 2026: ‘Give young people room’

The Dutch government wants to make today’s young people “the healthiest generation ever”. According to Remy Bonjasky, that means investing in places where young people can play sport. The kickboxer had the honour of delivering the Sportieve Troonrede 2026, the sports world’s own Speech from the Throne, on Prinsjesdag (Budget Day).

Every year on Prinsjesdag, the Dutch sports world calls on politicians to pay attention to good sports policy. This year, too, sports administrators, professionals, civil society organisations and politicians came together to discuss sport and physical activity in the government’s plans.

This time the speech was given by combat sports icon Remy Bonjasky. The former kickboxing champion, who now runs his own gym, stressed the power of sport as a means of development, connection, health and opportunity. Do not wait until things go wrong before paying attention to the wellbeing of young people: that was one of the messages of his speech.

“Give young people room, literally and figuratively, to make use of the power of sport. Sport offers young people an environment where they build self-confidence, develop social contacts, learn to deal with setbacks and discover who they can be.”

Every year, the Sportieve Troonrede offers an alternative platform on Prinsjesdag to show the social value of sport and physical activity. The event is organised by Maatschappelijke Organisaties in de Sport (MOS, the network of civil society organisations in Dutch sport) in cooperation with the Municipality of The Hague.

The status of combat sports
Director Farid Gamei attended on behalf of the Vechtsportautoriteit. “It is important that the sports world keeps politicians on their toes, for example when it comes to the importance of a safe sports environment for our young people. But apart from that message, it was great to see that a kickboxer, of all people, was asked to be the voice of sporting Netherlands. Kickboxing was once the unwanted stepchild of the sports world, mostly a target for prejudice. But we have grown into a full member of the Dutch sports family, and this role for Remy at the heart of political The Hague underlines that once again.”

For more information about the initiative, see this page about the Sportieve Troonrede (in Dutch).