The Club

In order to play football on a team in Amsterdam, a club affiliation is required.  So, this fall W joined a football club.  Each club has its own clubhouse, which normally includes a fusball table, historical club memorabilia and trophies, a canteen serving snacks and bar food, and a bar, which always seems to be full of older men drinking beer and talking football (even mid day mid week).  We are at the club 2x per week, for practice (wednesday) and games (saturday).   Our club is called S.C. Buitenveldert.  

Each club in town has several turf and grass fields, prime real estate being put to excellent use.  Too cool.

W loves football, but being part of the club has not been easy.  Despite the common language of football, a culture/language barrier is still ever-present.  The Dutch language is tough and for us as it is our third priority language.  We have taken classes, but it definitely does not get the attention required to make significant progress. It can be a challenge for an american/french kid to fit in without a solid grasp of the language.  It is hard to see your little man struggle to mingle and I am so so proud of him every time he steps into the clubhouse and onto the pitch.