Should cup sensation Spakenburg make it to the final, the club from the Second Division hopes that the KNVB will change the date of the final battle. ‘The Blues’ from the church fishing village never play on Sundays and have no intention of doing so.
“If it comes to that, we will enter into serious consultation with the KNVB and the opponent,” says chairman Marc Schoonebeek in conversation with NU.nl. “Our approach is that we want to make it a Saturday evening game. If it will be a Sunday, I think we will say no. But that is not certain yet.”
Playing football on Sundays is out of the question in Spakenburg, where many believers live. It is even stated in the club’s statutes: “The purpose of the association is to practice and promote sport in general and football in particular, on all days of the week, except Sunday.”
The final is currently scheduled for Sunday, April 30. A spokesperson for the KNVB tells NU.nl that a consultation with all semi-finalists will follow in the run-up to the final battle in De Kuip. They can then pass on any wishes. That does not mean that those wishes will also be met.
‘Wouldn’t be the first time that we do not deviate from statutes’
Incidentally, not all Spakenburg players think a cup final on Sunday is a problem. “The boys within the group of players are different. But it wouldn’t be the first time that we stick to our statutes,” says Schoonebeek.
In the recent past, Sunday was deviated from as the final day once before. That was when Ajax and Feyenoord reached the final in 2010. The final was then played over two games for the first time since 1983, without away supporters. The first game was on Sunday, April 25, the return followed on Thursday, May 6.
A discussion about the date of the final is of course still in the future. Spakenburg will be part of the draw on Saturday evening to determine who will be the opponent in the semi-final.
Feyenoord will play an away match against sc Heerenveen on Wednesday at 8 p.m. PSV awaits a home game with ADO Den Haag on Thursday (kick-off at 6.45 p.m.) and Ajax wants to qualify for the semi-finals in Doetinchem at the expense of De Graafschap. That match starts at 9:00 PM.
