Abstract
In this chapter, we will highlight the current state of affairs as well as the historical background of the way in which sport is governed in the Netherlands. In order to do so, we will focus on the role of the national government, the sports clubs and sport federations and the local governments. We will show that sport in the Netherlands very much forms a showcase for the Dutch political-economy tradition of coalitions and of responsibilities and initiatives that are shared between public and private organisations. We will argue that that system has been important in establishing a sound and cost-effective sporting infrastructure, perhaps favouring grassroots sport whilst not being blind to the significance of elite sports. We will also, however, go into the threats to the system, coming from the influx of commercial forces and the need to make difficult choices when it comes to elite sports.
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Notes
- 1.
In Dutch: ‘Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg’.
- 2.
See, among others, the database of the World Bank, http://data.worldbank.org/country/netherlands.
- 3.
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) publishes frequently on this subject. See http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?VW=T&DM=SLNL&PA=71822NED&D1=0&D2=a&D3=0&D4=1,3-9&D5=0-2,4,8-10&D6=0&D7=l&HD=081216-1451&HDR=T,G6,G2,G5,G3&STB=G1,G4 (retrieved 11 August 2015) or look for ‘opleidingsniveau’ on the CBS website. The main source is the Dutch Labour Force Survey.
- 4.
For historical reasons, the Netherlands has a sizeable community of (mainly Dutch-speaking) people from Surinam and the Dutch Antilles. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a significant influx of ‘guest workers’ into the Netherlands, especially from the countries around the Mediterranean Sea (Italy, Spain). In recent decades it has mainly been Turkish and Moroccan immigrants who have sought and found work in the Netherlands.
- 5.
The Ministry of CRM (Culture, Recreation and Society), which later developed in the ministry of WVC (Health, Well-being and Culture) and then into the current ministry of VWS.
- 6.
Koninklijke Vereniging voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding (Royal Association for Physical Education—founded). See www.kvlo.nl.
- 7.
Vereniging Sport en Gemeenten (Association for Sport and Municipalities. See www.sportengemeenten.nl.
- 8.
- 9.
In the Netherlands, at the primary education level, there is no requirement for schools to hire PE teachers that have a teaching qualification in the subject. Teachers with a general teaching degree and that take a minor qualification in PE, may also teach PE. In secondary education (roughly 12–18 years old), PE is being taught by teachers with a four-year bachelor’s degree in PE. After that, in tertiary education (university, and universities of applied sciences), PE is generally not part of the curriculum.
- 10.
Wet Maatschappelijke Ondersteuning, Law on Social Support. This law was changed considerably in 2015 and is since then referred to as WMO 2015.
- 11.
Hence, the Sportagenda 2012 (NOC*NSF, 2012) is the current four-year plan which will be in operation until the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. Preparations for a new four-year plan are well underway, formal decision-making on the new plan is expected in the upcoming spring and autumn assemblies.
- 12.
Excluding budgets with the Ministry of Education and Culture for Physical Education.
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Breedveld, K., Hoekman, R. (2017). The Netherlands: How the Interplay Between Federations and Government Helps to Build a Sporting Nation. In: Scheerder, J., Willem, A., Claes, E. (eds) Sport Policy Systems and Sport Federations. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60222-0_10
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