FOOTBALL – FC Emmen will travel to FC Groningen tonight with a record number of away supporters by First Division standards. André van der Aa, supporters coordinator at FC Emmen is ready for it. “I think it’s so unique what happens here! And that on Monday evening.”
More than 1,030 Emmen fans will travel to the Euroborg branch in Groningen tonight. That is a special experience for Van der Aa. “For me as a coordinator, that is exciting. You don’t often have such a large group with you. That does require extra attention. You have to arrange more for ticket sales, for example, and be extra keen on matters such as safety,” he says.
Van der Aa thinks he knows what the cause of achieving the supporter record is. “It surprised me at first, it is difficult to achieve these numbers on a Friday evening, let alone on a Monday. Then I suddenly realized that it is of course the autumn holidays and that many parents with children can now go to the match.”
For many Emmen supporters, the match against FC Groningen is more important than other away matches. Van der Aa has an explanation for this: “It is the closest match. You also meet Dick Lukkien for the first time since his departure. That gives a completely different feeling to many people.”
The supporters coordinator himself does not have that feeling, according to him the away match against FC Groningen is ‘just a match like any other, which happens to be closer’. “It used to be different, back then we had BV Veendam. Those were very different times, we won’t get them back,” says Van der Aa about FC Emmen’s former rival. “That will never be the case at FC Groningen. This match is also not that strong on their side.”
Even though Van der Aa is confident in a good outcome, he expects a 1-2 victory for FC Emmen, he feels a lot of tension. “I didn’t sleep well and that wasn’t just competition tension. You want to have everything well arranged for the supporters. Safety is the most important thing. I woke up eight times last night,” he says.
Responsibility for safety primarily lies with FC Groningen, Van der Aa explains. The northern neighbor has chosen to release the competition. This means that supporters can come to the stadium on their own. Due to the large number of away supporters, the club has chosen to make additional parking spaces available. Emmen residents who live in Groningen can also choose to come by bike.
The previous away fan record was also set in the Euroborg, in the Eredivisie. There were 1027 Emmen residents in the away section on Saturday, February 18 of this year. That match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The match between FC Emmen and FC Groningen will kick off tonight at 8 p.m. Ticket sales have now closed.