On 22 April, a group of students from the Reinwardt Academy visited the NAC Breda museum. The museum invited them due to its partnership with the Reinwardt Academy for the Faro Project: Football Heritage as a Chance for the Sector’. Accompanied by volunteers, the students toured the exhibition and learned all about the NAC Breda museum.
From a place of passion
The group was welcomed at the museum by two volunteers, John and Marcel. They know everything about NAC Breda, along with the other volunteers at the museum. They could talk about it for hours, covering everything from players’ careers to the details of matches that took place over 100 years ago. When you talk to them, you can feel their passion and love for NAC; they are the heart of the museum, without them and their fellow volunteers, there would be no museum. The museum is run by volunteers, which is why it is only open on Wednesday afternoons and by appointment. Whether you are coming alone or in a group, a tour will be given to you. This demonstrates their desire to share the story of NAC Breda with their audience.
Museum based on membership
Their relationship with the club is good; they don’t have to pay rent for the rooms in the stadium. However, NAC Breda cannot provide further financial support for the museum, partly because they are a small club. The relationship is not always stable due to different directors making different agreements. Sometimes they receive the new home and away jerseys, and sometimes they don’t. Without the club’s support, they have had to find their own revenue stream. The money they make from entrance fees is not enough to keep the museum open. That’s why the NAC Breda Museum has a community of private donors: they generate the majority of the revenue. As a donor, you receive a monthly newspaper containing historical research and are invited to a yearly historical event where a historical topic is explored in depth. All of this is managed by volunteers who are all around heritage workers. They are archivists, collectors, curators, researchers, business owners and fundraisers. John and Marcel don’t work in the heritage field; they manage the museum out of a love for and recognition of the importance of history.
Connecting sectors
The purpose of the Faro project Football Heritage: An Opportunity for the Sector and Society is to connect football with the heritage sector and establish a presence for football. This will ensure that they can receive support from the sector at both local and national levels. The project wants the heritage sector to recognise the value of football heritage and to bridge the gap between the two worlds. NAC Breda demonstrates that this is possible, as they are exploring new partnerships with local archives and museums. Through new opportunities, the NAC Breda museum will learn all about professional museums and receive support from paid and trained archivists, curators and marketers. This also demonstrates that local relationships can be established. It will bring together different groups of visitors with one shared story. Most importantly of all, however, they will have the opportunity to tell the story of NAC Breda on a much larger scale than ever before.
Considering many publics
On the 22nd of April, the Reinwardt Academy students visiting the museum approached the museum from a different perspective; unlike most visitors, they weren’t fans. As heritage workers in training, they think differently to the average visitor. One student asked about the authenticity of the toilet paper in the exhibition: Is it the real toilet paper that was thrown at the goalkeeper, or is it just new toilet paper from the shop? Another student asked if the videotape could be watched and if the CDs could be played. The exhibition only shows the objects and their titles; the footage on them is a treasure, but one that is unknown to visitors. The visit showed the students another side of the museum world. For some, it was their first time visiting a football club museum; others had already been to different ones. The exhibition demonstrates ways to collect and preserve living heritage and its historical aspects. It also demonstrates the challenges faced by small museums with limited financial resources and numerous ideas to consider.
New forms of teamwork for football and heritage
The NAC Breda Museum is run by a group of enthusiastic volunteers who recognise the historic value of the club. They research the past and collect items for future generations. The students’ visit resulted in a new perspective on the museum and taught them about a different side of the museum world. NAC Breda and the Faro projects demonstrate that collaboration can help football museums to grow. Thanks to the partnership, a new target audience can be reached, creating more opportunities and a real chance for football in the heritage sector. It’s the same in football: you can’t win a match alone; you need each other to succeed.
Thinking Points
There are many club museums which have been fan initiatives and are sustained through deep commitment of volunteers and private donors as members. Educators can use this article to explore with young people questions like:
- Who should own a museum?
- What kinf od objects and stories make sense in a football club museum?
- How could football club museums become spaces for local communities to connects?
Find Out More
Check out the Football Makes History Gameplan; a special set of articles that looks at the interplays between football clubs, their heritage workers (citizens and professionals alike) and the opportunities in the cultural heritage field. Make sure to visit the NAC Museum, either when you are in town, or digitally. For example, you can catch a glimpse of it on YouTube.
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