Ellen Fokkema made Dutch history by playing for a senior men’s team: “I hope I won’t be the last”

VV Foarut midfielder Ellen Fokkema has a typical matchday routine: ride her bicycle through the beautiful Friesland fields to the Schatzenburg sports complex in the small village of Menaam, in the north of the Netherlands (about 90 minutes north of Amsterdam), where she sees the same faces at the club that’s been her home since the age of 5. But Saturday would prove to be anything but normal, as the 20-year-old learned she was going to be on the bench in the club’s “4e Klasse” (ninth tier) opener against Sleat. Not for her usual U19 side, but for the senior men’s team. Read More