NAC Football Memories project set up for senior citizens of Breda

NAC Football Memories project set up for senior citizens of Breda

Once every fortnight, senior citizens meet on Wednesday afternoons at the Rat Verlegh Stadium and over a cup of coffee, conversations are initiated about NAC Breda football club with the NAC Football Memories project.

The NAC Football Memories project was set up in 2020 for seniors who are mostly housebound and have little to no social contact left. Based on photos, newspapers, fragments and other memorabilia, the rich football past of the Pearl of the South is discussed.

Hans Daane is a native of Breda, but currently lives in Etten-Leur. The 67-year-old man has been a supporter of the club since childhood. His yellow-black heart is so big that he has only missed six home games since he was five. He also lovingly dedicates himself to the football business in various areas. Hans sits on the board of the NAC Supporters’ Association and was a fanatical player in the early years of the NAC OldStars with vv Internos. Due to a heart attack, it was no longer possible to participate in the physical game at the NAC OldStars.

Due to the mandatory quit of the NAC OldStars, other opportunities came along and the organisation asked if Hans could do something for NAC Football Memories. Due to his enthusiasm and many experiences with the club, Hans is a walking encyclopedia of what concerns NAC Breda. In cooperation with the NAC Museum, he provides the books, photos and other materials for the meetings.

“People who are lonely or have incipient Alzheimer’s, for example, are invited to take part in a meeting (of course, you can also sign up). They are often people who already have a season ticket. We then try to find out where those people’s NAC interests lie. For example, we have books from the 1950s onwards. Some don’t remember what happened an hour ago, so to speak, but can still unfailingly recall a match from years ago. We then discuss that with the participants.”

Hans Daane, a senior citizen of Breda

Hans experiences that participants increasingly come out of their shells during the meetings. This shows that talking and reminiscing have a positive effect on a person’s well-being. A person’s social aspects are stimulated and you can see that people enjoy these small initiatives.

Hans says he would advise people to take part in the project. Some people in the target group crawl into their shell and through these meetings you make them crawl out of that unconsciously. Some people in this target group crawl away a bit, but you get them out of that a bit.