The men of GVC 1. (photo GVC)
‘We play free of charge on the pitch at De Bongerd, 75 percent of our players are students and we are expecting to grow. So it is a logical step to become a student club,’ says Rijk Dersjant, a student of Nutrition and Health and a player in GVC’s first eleven.
GVC also wants to professionalize its first eleven. ‘We notice that students who are good football players prefer to join another club with a higher standard.’ So for the next season, GVC has hired a professional trainer. Thymos is helping to fund this, on condition that GVC becomes a Thymos club. Members of an SSV only have to buy a sports card. ‘With no subscription and a good trainer, we hope to attract more good footballers so we can improve our pay and increase our membership.’
It is a shame that the non-student members will have to leave, acknowledges Rijk. ‘Especially in the 3rd and 4th men’s elevens, there are ex-students and recent graduates who enjoy carrying on playing with their friends. So we’ve arranged with Thymos that they can go on playing for the club for three years. Footballers who have done a lot for the club become honorary members. They get to stay with GVC for ever.’
The transition is not completely sewn up yet. At S.W.U Thymos’s AGM at the end of June, all the student sports associations get to vote for or against GVC becoming one of them.