ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Rens Cremers, Arne van Lienden, Agnes Elling and Jacco van Sterkenburg focus on the Netherlands. They note that the world of football in their home country is widely perceived to be a meritocratic and colour-blind space. However, over recent years, there have been some high-profile and controversial racist incidents in in Dutch football. These incidents have renewed attention to racism in football and have resulted in various anti-racism measures and initiatives from stakeholders in Dutch football. This chapter aims to illuminate the multifaceted aspects of racism within the Dutch football landscape and undertake a critical examination of the anti-racism measures implemented in the past few years. The chapter commences with a brief overview of recent migration trends that explain the ethnically very diverse composition of Dutch society. Subsequently, it provides a succinct summary of the development of policies that focus on racism before examining contemporary policies in greater detail and assessing how they differ from earlier initiatives. At the same time, the authors show how sports and football policies align with broader social and political trends in the Netherlands. Finally, the chapter identifies gaps and challenges in tackling racist discrimination in Dutch football.
