In 2025, a new initiative was launched in the Netherlands to establish a national network for heritage work in professional football. The kick-off event took place on 20 June at the headquarters of the Dutch Premier League (Eredivisie CV) in Zeist.
Organised by the Reinwardt Academie in collaboration with Eredivisie CV and the Sportbeleid en Sportmanagement group at Utrecht University (USBO), the event brought together individuals who in various capacities work on archiving, collecting and/or presenting stories and objects of their football clubs. Some as volunteers working informally, others within formal foundation structures, and some even as paid staff. Some with initial collections, others with museums and stadium touts.
Their aim? To bring visibility and structure to the growing field of football heritage, to learn from one another, to raise the game of how football heritage work is (and can) be done so that it may connect better with club culture, society and public values.
Why football heritage?
Football heritage is a relatively new term for a phenomenon as old as football itself: the act of collecting, cherishing and sharing objects, stories, and rituals from the football past in the present, with an eye toward the future. Football supporters and their clubs arguably form some of the largest heritage communities in the Netherlands. Yet they are rarely recognised as such by the heritage or cultural sectors. Likewise, club managements often have limited awareness of their responsibilities in this domain – which sits somewhere between fan work, social responsibility, and operations.
At the same time, much of the current football heritage work is carried out by dedicated volunteers: managing collections, organising exhibitions, digitising archives, conducting oral histories, hosting school groups, and celebrating anniversaries. While the Dutch heritage sector offers many programmes and resources to support this kind of work, professional clubs often remain disconnected from them – and the heritage sector itself has had a blind spot for professional sport. This fragmentation and lack of access, is exactly what the new network seeks to address.
Engaging conversations
The Zeist programme featured a blend of presentations, dialogue sessions, and peer exchanges. After a welcome by Marc Rondagh (Eredivisie CV), the tone was set with introductions by Jonathan Even-Zohar (Reinwardt Academie). This was followed by a set of challenging questions put to the group by Viet Seger Weaver-Stevens, who was joined that day by his colleague Patricia Wijntuin (Utrecht University); Who decided which history of the club is presented? What are the ways in which the heritage work is recognised/supported by the club governance?
The first interactive session – “De eerste helft” – showcased diverse practices in heritage work. Attendees rotated between three tables, each presenting real-world examples: the network discussed about the organisations and working methods at big clubs, such as Ajax and Feyenood where there is a paid position for heritage work at Ajax; as well as the experiences and challenges at collaborative community museum efforts at NAC Breda; and challenges at the initial stages of forming volunteer-led foundation. Participants reflected on shared challenges and opportunities, from visibility and funding to governance and public engagement.
After the break, the “second half” opened with insights from Matthias Thoma (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Sönke Goldbeck (FC St. Pauli) – both board members of the German-language Association of Football Club Archivists and Museums. Their message was clear: a national network strengthens football heritage work, helps overcome isolation, and creates opportunities for structural support.
The final session, “Vooruitkijken (Rondo)”, invited all participants to share takeaways, identify future ambitions, and reflect on what they need to further develop heritage work at their club. The network shared deep enthusiasm to keep working on this, to draft a common mission, to set up an informal chat group and to seek new opportunities for collaboration!
Ambitions and challenges
The afternoon gave great insights into the variety of experiences, ambitions and needs for heritage work within Dutch professional football. How to set up a museum in the best way? Should collections be put online for public access or not? What kind of governance works best for heritage? Does it directly involve the club organisation or is it more oriented to supporters? What are good examples of using anniversaries to accelerate heritage work? How to ensure the work is intergenerational?
From Europe to The Netherlands
This initiative builds on research and activities of our Football Makes History platform, in which the Reinwardt Academie conducted fieldwork in The Netherlands from 2023. The Erasmus+ supported creation of the Gameplan: Toolkit for Football Club Heritage Work in early 2025, provided the possibility to connect the European innovation with the Dutch needs and opportunities. Two clubs have been especially supporting during the 2024 explorations: NAC Breda and Ajax Amsterdam. The Gameplan is thus a result of European exchanges as well as Dutch practice-based research! It offers inspiration for clubs: from developing heritage education in schools to co-creating collections with fans, organising city walks that highlight inclusion, and contributing to local commemorations.
The meeting which took place in Zeist (NL) on 20 June added new momentum by linking these efforts to the Dutch football governance context, with support from academic expertise in public value and sports management. In particular thanks to the expertise of Utrecht University, the hosting by the Eredivisie CV and – last but not least – the enthusiasm of her heritage care-takers which attended from 16 football clubs.
By recognising the unique potential of football heritage – and those already working hard to safeguard it – the network is carving out space for collaboration that is inclusive, professional, and socially impactful.
Thinking Points
The meeting and the emerging network will continue its development as a place to learn from one another, and collaborate on projects and initiatives. It strives to connect with more clubs, and the FMH platform. Aspects for such future development will include:
- How can football clubs take greater ownership of their own heritage as a form of public value?
- Within the broader ecosystem of a football club, where could this heritage work best be nested, as it brings together the club organisation, supporters groups and private collectors
- What role can volunteers and fans play in bridging the gap between the club and the cultural heritage sector?
- How can football heritage work contribute to inclusion, education, and civic participation?
- What might a national infrastructure for football heritage look like, and who should lead it and ensure its future existence?
The existing network in Germany already gives quite some information and insights. We would like to know: Do such networks exist in other counties?
Find out more
The new network emerged during the creation of the Football Makes History Gameplan, and now will seek how to learn and build from its Key Practices. This initial network meeting was attended by the Heritage Coordinator at Ajax, a board member of De Graafschap Het Museum, and volunteer at the club, a football historian and journalist related to FC Den Bosch, the initiators of a new Heritage Foundation for FC Dordrecht, the contact person for Historisch FC Emmen, the founder of 030 Sportbureau (working on history of FC Utrecht), the curator of the Feyenoord Museum (along with an Erasmus University Rotterdam history student currently interning at this museum), the treasurer of the Fortunamuseum Foundation, secretary of the Go Ahead Eagles Stichting Niet te Kraken and its Home of History (museum), a NAC Museum board member and club archivist, the head of the PSV Museum, head of heritage at (former professional football club) RBC Roosendaal, board member of Roda1962 – a member association connecting fans and preserving heritage and archive, active member of the supporters association of Telstar and curator of the Vitesse’s Home of History museum.
Photo Gallery
Let’s review
