Achterhoek young participants of MDT to FC Emmen
On an early Sunday morning, over 100 youngsters gathered from the MDT Community Champions programme in Emmen. Host FC Emmen had the youngsters from Vitesse, de Graafschap and RKC visiting and a cool day in store for them. On the car park, the player buses arrived one by one and the youngsters were looking forward to it!
The day was kicked off by Eric van Oosterhout; Mayor and chairman of FC Emmen Naoberschap after which the youngsters were inspired by the various speakers in various workshops. For example, wheelchair tennis player Tom Egbrink talked about his career and how you can strengthen each other and thus become the better ones yourself. Mustapha El Barbari gave a resilience training, hoping to give the young people something to use in the future. Niel Brinkhuis, an ex-convict, told a piece about his life story and hopes to inspire the young people to stay strong in life. Finally, there was a workshop on esports given by Viènna Klapwijk and what you need to do to stay fit and compete at the highest level. After this interesting morning, it was time for a sporting activity and the youngsters got to play a tournament in the stadium. It was a fun and successful afternoon for the youngsters.
SOCIAL SERVICE TIME – MDT
Since March 2022, the Eredivisie CV, EFDN and eight clubs from the Eredivisie and Keuken Kampioen Divisie started the MDT project Community Champions. Young people between 15 and 27 years old go on a 16-week journey of discovery to become the best version of themselves. They do this by playing football together, taking part in various workshops and organising activities in the neighbourhood. Participating clubs are De Graafschap, Excelsior Rotterdam, FC Emmen, FC Twente, Feyenoord, RKC Waalwijk, Sparta Rotterdam and Vitesse.
As Community Champions, the young people discover (new) talents in themselves, meet new people and do something in return for another. For example, one participant finds out that she really enjoys organising events, while another feels very comfortable with marketing them. Or one of the participants gets the chance to work for a club sponsor, while another is introduced to a completely new sport.
Besides gaining experience and so-called work skills, the young people can earn points for their commitment, development and skills. These points can eventually be exchanged for, for example, match tickets, tracksuits or match shirts. The young people complete the programme with a nationwide MDT certificate, which states what qualities they have worked on and what they can give a place on their CV.
