26 March 2025

Farid Gamei: ‘Sommige mensen hebben een zetje nodig: dat zetje kan het Jeugdfonds geven’

Farid Gamei, director of the Dutch Martial Arts Authority, joined the Supervisory Board of the Youth Fund for Sport & Culture this year. He is an avid athlete and has won national and international titles as a professional kickboxer. What does he want to achieve for the Youth Fund? He hopes to bridge the gap between policymakers and the target group.

It's safe to say that sports are in Gamei's DNA. He's been involved in sports from a young age, attended sports training programs, taught (kickboxing) as an instructor, pursued a top-level kickboxing career, worked for the Johan Cruyff Foundation, and is a board member of the Dutch Sports Council. To top it all off, he became the director of the Dutch Martial Arts Authority. "I know sports at all levels: from practicing personally to teaching, managing participation in sports, and my children's sports clubs," says Gamei.

Discipline and respect

As a kickboxer, he competed at the highest level and won multiple titles. He still works out at least five times a week. "As a kid, I also did judo. And I played soccer for a while. But I was the one on the team who could get really irritated if my teammates had gone out the night before, if they weren't taking it seriously. Maybe that's why I focused solely on kickboxing from the age of fifteen."

What has sport given him? "The core values of martial arts are values that will benefit you for the rest of your life: self-control, discipline, perseverance, and respect for one another. All sports teach you similar values, but in martial arts, discipline and respect are particularly important." He emphasizes that you don't have to compete at a high level. At all levels, sport brings self-confidence, social connections, and, above all, fun!

Growing up in the middle of the target group

Besides kickboxing at a high level, Gamei worked as a neighborhood sports coordinator for the municipality of Amsterdam and organized sporting events in his (former) neighborhood. He could often be found on the streets and at Cruyff Courts. Even in his younger years, he was involved with the Youth Fund's target group: "I was born and raised in Amsterdam East. The Oosterparkbuurt, the Transvaalbuurt: those are the neighborhoods where the Youth Fund's target group is located. So I know them well from my childhood, but also from when I worked as a neighborhood sports coordinator and taught at various kickboxing schools. Pretty much all those schools were affiliated with the Youth Fund."

Life lessons: everyone has the right to them

At the end of 2024, the opportunity arose to join the Supervisory Board of the Youth Fund for Sports & Culture. “In all my roles, I've seen what participating in sports means for children. Enjoying exercise at a young age also makes you want to exercise later in life. In addition, there are the life lessons and opportunities it brings. I believe everyone has the right to that. It shouldn't be the case that just because your parents aren't well-off, you can't participate. The Youth Fund plays a key role in that. They're in the right places and can give those who need it that push.” He wants to contribute to that as directly as possible through his new role.

From street to council

In the words of a good friend of Gamei, he went "from the street to the Board." He brings all his personal and professional experience to the council table. "Through the Supervisory Board, I want to not only oversee and advise on management, but also connect with the target group. I come from the neighborhoods where Jeugdfondskinderen is located. I know the target group, I have a feel for it. And more broadly, I see that the gap between administrators, the policymakers, and the target group is widening. My goal is to narrow this gap a little in the coming years."

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Photo: Henriëtte Guest