They are a number of priorities in the 2025-2028 policy plan of Voetbal Vlaanderen. The basis for this served the results of a survey at nearly 4,000 clubs, trainers, parents, referees and players.
Today, almost 357,000 football players are affiliated with a club in Flanders. Compared to a decade ago, that means a growth of 28 percent. Football Flanders wants to extend that line by “building an even stronger framework of the football community”.
Working more intensively with clubs
“Our ambitions are great: from more footballing boys and girls over greater fan experience to even more fair play and less racism. We are fully aware that all this should be realized on the site by our more than 2,900 clubs and our referee corps. But they are not only for it,” explains Footballer Flanders.
“We will guide them even more intensively in the coming years and relieve them even more in the field of administration. In this way we create breathing space so that clubs and referees can focus on the essence of football. Together we are building a stronger, more inclusive and future -oriented football family.”
More fans, fewer waiting lists
Seven out of ten clubs today receive fewer than 100 spectators per match. Through extra fan experience with the help of Voetbal Vlaanderen, that number must be up by half by 2028. “From our first department, we will now put extra in the spotlight with the help of our own marketing and communication experts. In addition, there is a new competitive format on the drawing table, we will launch an innovative media platform to centralize news, images and rankings and roll a specific content strategy to develop the stadiums in 20266 Amateur football to strengthen, “explains Rosier.
To tackle the problem of the waiting lists, a phenomenon with which one in three clubs is struggling, those clubs will be linked to clubs with an incomplete youth work. By scaling up the Futbalista program, Voetbal Vlaanderen hopes to have a quarter more girls’ clubs by 2028.
50% of the trainers with diploma
Another priority is to boost the level of the trainers by increasing the number of qualified coaches. Within four years, half of the more than 19,000 trainers must have one or more diplomas. “Today, more than 2,500 trainers are obtaining a diploma at Voetbal Vlaanderen every year. By 2028 we want half of all active trainers to be qualified,” Rosier emphasizes. “And the number of female coaches must also be raised. Today they make just under 6% of our total trainers corps. Through targeted recruitment campaigns, mentoring, scholarships and starting guidance, Voetbal Vlaanderen wants to increase this percentage by 50% by 2028.”
Respect and Fair Play remains top priority
In addition, Voetbal Vlaanderen wants to continue to focus on respect on and next to the fields, with special attention to fair play, discrimination and racism. The fame of the Club APIs (point of contact for integrity) in particular is a working point. “Through targeted communication campaigns, visuals and community events, we will work to increase the awareness and accessibility of the point of contact for integrity at our clubs. It is not possible that 6 out of 10 parents and a quarter of the trainers do not know who fulfills that role within the club,” said Rosier. “In addition, by 2028 we want 8 out of 10 refs, parents and players to experience more sportiness and respect on and next to the field by 2028. The number of cases about discrimination must fall by half by 2028.”