While the Orange Lionesses face an impossible task against France on Sunday at the European Championship, women’s football is developing rapidly at the local level. We spoke to two players about their journey in football and the challenges they had to face.
Fay Jongbloets (13) plays in the JO13-1 of v.v. UNA, a boys’ team that plays in the third division. She also plays in the youth academy of PSV and trains weekly at the KNVB. Her hard work and perseverance are beginning to pay off, but it wasn’t easy to get there.
Fay started playing football in 2019 at ODC in Boxtel, where her talent quickly became apparent. In 2022, she was scouted by the German Alemannia Aachen. After a strong period at this club, her future looked promising.
Unfortunately, a rule from the KNVB and UEFA threw a wrench in the works. Fay lives 102.3 kilometers from the stadium, while the allowed distance for players is only 100 kilometers. “I thought that was a shame. It was a fun team and we played against big clubs like Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Cologne,” says Fay.
After her return to ODC, Fay was invited to the Youth Plan Netherlands (JPN) of the KNVB. Thanks to a successful internship, she was given opportunities to grow and joined v.v. UNA from Veldhoven in 2023. There she now plays in a boys’ team at a high level.
Difficulty for girls to find a place
For Fay, it has been difficult to conquer a place in the male world of football. “At amateur clubs, girls often have difficulty finding a place in selection teams,” says her father. “As a result, their development often lags behind. Fay is lucky that I, as a qualified UEFA B coach, can guide her and support her optimally.”
Fay once started as the only girl among the boys. Meanwhile, the number of girls at her old club has increased significantly and several girls’ teams have even been established.
Yet her father still sees room for improvement in the football world. “If you want to develop talent, it starts with early education and good communication. Girls are often placed in positions where they do not develop, especially at amateur clubs.”
For Fay herself, one thing is certain: she continues to train and play matches with the boys, because she can get the most out of herself there. “I hope that I can play for PSV in the future. And my dream is to reach the Dutch national team.”
‘Give a push here and there and, above all, have fun’
Not only Fay, but also Bente Megens shows how you as a woman can conquer your place in a traditional male world such as football.
The 28-year-old Bente has been playing for Dames 1 of Brabant Oirschot Vooruit since 2022. She has completely regained the fun in the game, after not having played football for a number of years before that. “In 2017 there were only three girls’ teams. Now there is a team in almost every age category. That is very nice to see, because it gives more and more girls the opportunity to play football,” says Bente.
As an eleven-year-old girl, Bente took her first steps on the football field at Best Vooruit. “My brother, father and grandfather have always done it, so why shouldn’t I be able to?”, she thought. She played in the boys’ team E7 (JO11, ed.), because there were no girls’ or women’s teams at that time.
“Just kick a ball, give a push here and there and, above all, have a lot of fun. I always played with my brother and his friends, so I was already used to playing with boys. The only disadvantage was that I had to shower in the referees’ room as the only girl. During away matches, they sometimes did not take into account that I needed a separate place,” she says.
‘Fun to tackle the boys’
After Bente had played alone among the boys for a year, a second girl joined the team. “It was fun to tackle the boys together. Eventually we went together to the girls B (Under 16, ed.). We were younger than those girls, but thanks to the experience with the boys we were able to keep up well. The girls had to get used to our physical way of playing.”
Bente stopped playing football in 2017 because she was busy with work. But when she went to watch a match of her brother in 2022, she started itching again and returned. That period of absence has made her realize how much girls’ and women’s football has grown in the meantime.
“In my time, boys were more likely to choose football and girls more likely to choose hockey, but it is now more accepted that girls also play football,” says Bente. “You see more and more girls playing football on social media, and that has a positive influence.”
Less room for above-average talent
Yet Bente still sees challenges at amateur clubs. “There is less room for female talent that stands out. You have to look for larger clubs in the region. Amateur clubs should come up with something so that above-average talent can also develop with them.”
The stories of Fay and Bente show that female talent is increasingly finding a place in football. Their perseverance inspires and proves that dreams such as playing at a top club or the Dutch national team are within reach. Although there are still challenges, acceptance is growing and women’s football is offering more and more opportunities for the next generation.