Diving teams from all over the Netherlands will be in the water this Sunday at the Dutch Underwater Football Championship in the De Tongelreep swimming pool in Eindhoven. “At first glance it seems easy, but it is not,” explains underwater football player Roeland.
A weighted diving suit, a ball filled with salt water and a deep swimming pool: it forms the basis of underwater football. But the most important thing? “Nice diving teams that want to participate, because it’s mainly about having fun.”
Sixteen teams will gather in Eindhoven on Sunday afternoon for the Underwater Football Championship. “They come from all over the Netherlands. There are also divers from Belgium,” said the diver from Duikteam Eindhoven.
“The annual championship was watered down due to corona.”
Something that Wesley Voets is also proud of. He is team captain of the Eindhoven team and co-organizer of the championship. The previous edition was in 2019. “The annual championship was watered down due to corona. We have decided to pick it up again now.”
A fast dribble or a hard shot on goal is not an option in sport. Underwater football is quite tough. “It’s not without reason that a game only lasts 5 minutes. The ball weighs a lot, so it doesn’t float,” says Wesley.
“And every diver carries lead. For me that is about 10 kilos,” Roeland adds. “This way you can run across the bottom. Or well, running is a big word. It’s actually slightly faster than swimming.”
“Ultimately it comes down to mutual cooperation and tactics.”
It looks like the players are playing football in it slow motion, but underwater football requires quite a bit of strength. Roeland: “Ultimately it comes down to mutual cooperation and tactics.”
