Football association Kids United, the club for children and young people with a disability, will get a grandstand and its own canteen at sports park De Kring in Groningen this summer.
This was announced this weekend in the Euroborg stadium, where Kids United celebrated its 20th anniversary. Entrepreneurs and sponsors have raised 165,000 euros for the expansion of the sports complex. The grandstand can seat 100 people.
,,We will soon have our own little stadium”, says Onno Kukler, who founded Kids United in 2003 with his wife Margriet. “You don’t want to know how happy we are with that. We already have the dugouts.” The mini-complex of timber frame construction will be located at De Kring sports park, home to the PKC’83 football club. “The association is very good for us. Still, it’s nice that we will soon have our own place.”
‘Parents and children want to come more often’
According to Kukler, Kids United, which was adopted by FC Groningen in 2011, has 150 football-playing members and 35 volunteers. “It is unbelievable how many people want to roll up their sleeves to keep this association running. What we notice is that parents and children want to come more often. I think that is possible with our own accommodation.” Kukler praises the municipality of Groningen for refurbishing the sports complex earlier and making it safer.
The 20th anniversary was celebrated on Saturday evening in a packed lounge in the Euroborg. Kukler mentioned the club song specially made and sung by Diggy Dex and Johnny de Mol as the highlight. But also participation in an international football meeting at Werder Bremen. The low point was the death of three children. ,,We wanted to name that”, says Kukler. It is not yet known who will officially open the grandstand and the canteen this summer. “If everything goes well, we will do that together with FC Groningen.”