IJburg, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Amsterdam, was a neighborhood with little to no amenities, and sports facilities were all but non-existent. In 2005, a soccer school for four to six-year-olds was started in a temporary gym. This was such a success that a waiting list soon developed. When surrounding soccer clubs no longer had room for the influx of children who had attended the soccer school, it was time to establish their own club. In 2008 AFC IJburg was founded and the first league game was played in September 2009. In 2010, Sportpark IJburg was officially opened and now the club has about 1200 members.
Losing hundreds of balls per season
Speaking is Peter van Leeuwen, manager Underground and General Board member. "As a club, we used ball tubes that were shared by the teams. No team had its own footballs and therefore did not feel responsible for the material. This resulted in us losing hundreds of balls per season."
Teams are now responsible for themselves
AFC IJburg purchased 30 units of ball lockers (120 lockers) from us of the type M-750. These lockers were also assembled by us.
"Each team now has its own ball locker with equipment," says Peter, "and a deposit is paid for that at the beginning of season. Teams are now responsible for the equipment themselves. If they lose equipment it is deducted from the deposit. Of course defective or worn equipment will be replaced free of charge. Also, the first ball lost by a team will not be deducted from the deposit. Instead of losing nearly six hundred balls per season, we now lose an average of fifty per season. Half of those, about twenty-five, are passed on to the teams. This results in huge savings per season. Money we can use again to buy other materials."
Investment that pays for itself
When asked if the club is satisfied with the purchase of ball lockers, Peter responds positively. "As a club we are extremely satisfied with both the lockers and Holland Sport Systems. From the beginning they thought along with us about the placement of the lockers, and they delivered quickly. We have had some minor issues, but they were resolved quickly. It is quite an investment to buy lockers for more than a hundred teams, but the investment pays for itself because we lose less material. And the teams are happy too; they never miss out again.
