On the artificial turf of FC Emmen, more than sixty sports clubs from all over the Netherlands poured themselves into old Dutch games with a big wink on Saturday, sweating. The winners will play next season with the erotic webshop EasyToys as shirt sponsor.
In the sixteen-meter area of De Oude Meerdijk, ten girls from football club Hazerswoudse Boys are watching a game of catching dildos. They wait their turn, the pink EasyToys sunglasses on their noses. How did the women’s team from South Holland end up in Emmen? They look at each other. “I think we saw it on TikTok.”
Huge name recognition
When the Veendammer sex toy manufacturer became a shirt sponsor of FC Emmen in 2020, some football fans frowned. The company gained enormous brand awareness in return, says marketer Gelmer Jan Haanstra. “Since then we have received a lot of sponsorship requests. Choosing from them is difficult. Now teams can compete for a sponsor package that includes uniforms, tracksuits and sponsor boards.”
Sixty teams participate in traditional Dutch games on the field of FC Emmen on Saturday morning. Of course with a big wink: there is vulva memory, catching dildos instead of catching sticks and the game thirty seconds has been renamed for the occasion dirty seconds . A banner hangs in the stands: ‘Haarsteeg 4 is here for dildos and beer!’
Nice but not vulgar
Despite the playful assignments, it should not become too vulgar, says Haanstra. “We want everyone to have a nice day and preferably go home with a nice prize.”
From 11:00 am the first beers are enthusiastically ordered and the association shirts are soon taken off. A group of boys who have grown up are smearing themselves with pumps of lubricant at the belly slide, a captain’s armband around the captain’s bare upper arm.
Tough men
Six American Football players look a bit embarrassed after a game dirty seconds . “We were a bit disappointed,” says captain Sander Dyke with a strong Flemish accent. “Many words are slightly different in Dutch than in Belgian.”
The bearded guys come from Antwerp and hope that Easytoys will soon be on the shirts of the Antwerp Spartans adorns. “It seemed like a nice contrast to us,” says Dyke with a grin. “That we as tough men have a toy brand as a sponsor.” They think it’s fun, but they’re really there for the profit. “Our team consists of almost forty men. Sportswear is a major expense.”
Flyers at barn parties
To get an invitation to the final in Emmen, teams had to win votes. “We have many barn parties in our neighborhood,” says football player Suus Kooter of the Hazerswoudse Boys. “We hung flyers there, but we did not expect to win.” Her teammate Lois Hofkamp nods. “It’s actually a joke that got out of hand. We hear from other teams that they have made a lot more effort to be here.”
So far it has been worth the 3.5 hour train journey, the ladies say. “We just heard that we are not allowed to play all games, but hopefully we can go over the assault course after the games are over.” Until they go back with the last train, they hope to make it cozy. “We will turn off the lights in Emmen tonight.”