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Zeeland | November 13, 2025

Ambassador Said Bouzambou says goodbye to the Dutch national team

On Tuesday, November 11th, during the Netherlands-Germany match, a farewell was held for Saïd Bouzambou, Youth Fund Sports & Culture Zeeland ambassador. Saïd played in an impressive 102 matches for the Dutch national team, scoring 34 goals. At his farewell, he was honored by none other than Nigel de Jong, director of Top Football. Saïd is grateful for the journey he has been able to make with the Dutch national team and will certainly miss being with the team. (Photo: KNVB)

Saïd started playing futsal in his teens and, together with friends, founded the Groene Ster Vlissingen indoor soccer club. Besides paying membership fees, he also had to do laundry, drive to matches, and arrange sponsorships—everything he did himself. After winning six championships, the team reached the Eredivisie (Dutch premier league). The contrast with the other clubs was stark, but they competed well. This led to an invitation to the national team for Saïd. Soon after, he became a full international and has become a figurehead for the sport. For his achievements with the national team, Nigel de Jong appointed him a Knight of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB)!

There's a good chance Saïd wouldn't have been able to achieve this without the Youth Fund for Sports & Culture. Thanks to the Youth Fund, he was able to buy a football and his first boots. For this reason, Saïd is a proud ambassador for the Youth Fund for Sports & Culture and Meerkracht! Sport is much more than just physical health. What Saïd wants to convey is that it has a positive effect in many more ways. You learn to win and lose; to respect each other; to work together, and it improves your academic performance. In some situations, he sees himself reflected in his story and uses it to lower the threshold. His story makes new success stories possible.

“Fall 8 times, get up 9 times”