"I feel that I stand again in society"
|Dennis Koopmans represented the Netherlands at the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff. Image: Daniel Lipinski/Soda Visual
Anyone who has ventured into Bute Park over the last four days won’t have failed to notice the hirsute heroism of the Netherlands' lofty goalkeeper.
Meet 35-year-old Dennis Koopmans from Harderwijk, who is taming his personal demons thanks to the round ball.
“I was standing out of society and I need something to get back in. I was alone,” he says. "I was divorced and my children are away with my ex-partner, and I lost myself.
“Now, step by step, I am getting back. I’m not there yet but I’m working on it.”
A would-be footballer in his youth—“I had played a little bit of football but I had glasses and I was very clumsy and I wasn’t so good,”—Dennis progressed to practising on the street with friends and developed a love for the game.
“One of the coaches, Kees Grovenstein, invited me to play with the organisation Life Goals. So I thought cool, I like that,” he says.
|“When I pulled on the jersey of my country for the first time, I felt blessed.” Image: Daniel Lipinski/Soda Visual
Life Goals Netherlands Foundation, which brings vulnerable people in society—including those contending with addiction and homelessness—back into action through sport, runs 25 programmes throughout the country involving 4500 players. Selection for the Homeless World Cup team was based on players’ personal achievement, rather than skills, and Koopmans is stoked to have been selected for Cardiff.
“This is such an awesome opportunity, to meet the whole world in one place. I feel that I stand again in society and I feel more human again—not a lonely wolf or a black sheep.
“When I pulled on the jersey of my country for the first time, I felt blessed.”
|“In football you make mistakes too, you fall down and you must get up and it makes you stronger.” Image: Daniel Lipinski/Soda Visual
Pulling on that jersey brings into focus the obstacle entwining itself in those threads: the beard. That truly spectacular beard which holds its own story, as Koopmans quietly explains.
“I’ve not seen my children now for more than two years—my daughter is 12 and my son is 10. I’ve not been able to speak to them. I love them very much and they love me very much. And I thought, what can I do? I can do nothing.
“Then I thought, I can grow a beard as a protest. It’s not fair, I’m a good father, so why can I not see my children?
“It’s hard because you walk around with the beard and people laugh at you and point, but it makes me feel stronger. I will keep growing it until I can see my children again, then I will shave it off.
“Then I will put my beard in a bag and keep it in the closet so I never forget this time in my life.”
Following the tournament, back in Harderwijk, Koopmans hopes he will be able to see his children in a few months’ time, for a few hours.
“I’m nervous and anxious and scared but I’m looking forward to it,” he confides. “I will tell them all about being at this tournament, that it was an opportunity to tell my story and to show that I love them very much, that I can make mistakes but I’m not a bad person, I’m not a bad father.
“In football you make mistakes too, you fall down and you must get up and it makes you stronger. I’ll also tell my children that they were with me here, in my heart.”
With his own future mapped on an upward trajectory, what are Koopmans’ hopes for the future for his children?
“I hope that they get opportunities, like I have, in sport and society, and that they stand firm, do well in school, and do what they want to do, work for what they like and not only the money. There’s more in life than money.
“The most wonderful things are free: love and respect. Love and respect.”
LifeGoals are our partner in the Netherlands, find out how they’re using football to end homelessness and tackle social isolation.
Words: Isobel Irvine
Images: Daniel Lipinski / Soda-Visual