Non-Commercial Sport Clubs in Eindhoven

Dutch sports culture

The Dutch think that it is important that everyone has a chance to participate in sports. That is why there are sporting activities available for all ages and abilities. Playing sports is not just a healthy activity, but it is also a social activity. Sport clubs and organisations regularly organise parties, gatherings and other social activities.

If you join a sport club, your level of fitness and skills do not matter. They accept all levels, from beginner to advanced. In fact, most sport clubs in the Netherlands are organised in such a way that there is plenty of room for recreational athletes to practice their sport. And if you are looking to practice a sport at a high(er) level, please reach out to the club and ask them about the possibilities.

Voluntary Work

There are two types of sport providers in the Netherlands: sport clubs (in Dutch: “sportvereniging”) and commercial providers. The membership of a sport club is often less expensive than that of a commercial provider, since clubs are run by volunteers. The Board, the person behind the bar, and the trainer on the field, are often all volunteers. When you join a club, always ask whether they expect for you to volunteer or whether there is anything you can do for the club. With a commercial provider, you usually pay a bit more, but they will not expect you to volunteer.

Eindhoven Sport

Eindhoven Sport is the sports department of the municipality of Eindhoven. The department’s goal is to encourage as many people as possible to take part in physical exercise. They also rent out sport halls and fields and promotes the Ir. Ottenbad and De Tongelreep swimming pools, which are also part of the municipality.

You will find more information about sport clubs and sport facilities in Eindhoven at www.eindhovensport.nl

If you cannot find what you were looking for, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our sports coordinator, Ben Wiermans, at b.wiermans@eindhoven.nl

If you would like to keep up to date with what is happening in sports, please follow Eindhoven Sport on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Stories from two internationals who joined a sport club in Eindhoven:

“ I am a 35 years old French man living in Eindhoven since the end of 2016. We moved with my wife from Istanbul, Turkey. As soon as we arrived, I wanted to join a football team. My choice went to the RKVV Brabantia club. It is actually a very old a big club turning 100 years old in 2022 with more than 1,100 members.

The team I am a part of is really international with players from the Netherlands, France,

Spain, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria,

Greece and Turkey. We train and play twice a week during the season. We also organize social events such as diners came to the Netherlands 8 moved to Eindhoven, where Experiences by Gabi”. Since March 2019 I am a member of the Badminton club ‘BC Eindhoven’. There are 2 freeplay evenings per week, and for competition players, there is also a training evening. The club has approximately 170 members of which about 30 are internationals. In the club we also have training specifically for kids/ youth, and in that and barbecues where we all gather to have a good time. There is a strong social dimension to the team that was very useful as we exited the covid-19 lockdown situation. As soon as authorized, we started training again. It was the occasion to get out of home category we have an even higher percentage of internationals. Although I speak Dutch, I really appreciated that all formal communication is sent in both English and Dutch. I also felt that everyone was welcoming to newcomers, and people are ready to speak in English, although for me the evenings at the club were a good time to practice my Dutch. This is the second badminton club where I play, after a student badminton club while I was a PhD student. That's where I heard about BC Eindhoven, as many people would move from Panache to BC Eindhoven after finishing their studies. I joined in March and already in the new season (which started in August) I joined the competition. Joining the free-play can be a lot of fun and see people again. This made us feel that life was slowly going back to normal.”

Adrien, France

https://www.vvbrabantia.nl/

“I am from Romania and I years ago. The first 3 years I spend in Tilburg, and then I since recently I opened my own business “Food

info@vvbrabantia.nl as you get to play with many different people (there is a round-robin kind of system) but still at a similar level. On top of that, I found the training to really improve my skills in a short time. During the lockdown, I missed playing a lot, but we stayed in contact on WhatsApp and tried to keep a good competitive spirit alive through small quizzes and games. I really look forward to playing again, although I did not hear yet an exact date for a playing evening.”

Gabi Ruijten-Dodoiu, Romania