SXM Team
The St. Maarten national football team poses for a picture before a Gold Cup qualifier in June, 2023.
PHILIPSBURG—Its every young footballer’s dream: to be part of that select group of players considered good enough to represent your country. Walking on to the pitch in your national colours, listening to the fans singing the national anthem and watching the stadium erupt and chanting your name after you score that crucial goal.
St. Maarten’s Roy Gerritsen (Right) in action.
St. Maarten’s Kay and Roy Gerritsen pose for a photo.
Kay and Roy Gerritsen are living that dream. Well…part of the dream. For while they have been part of the Sint Maarten National Soccer Team since 2019, they have yet to play an official international game on home soil. The reason is familiar. Ever since Hurricane Irma destroyed the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex in 2017, the facility has been deemed unfit to host official games by the regional football federation CONCACAF. Although a new artificial pitch was recently laid, the rest of the facility still needs to be upgraded.
And that is not only a real shame for the local fans, who have missed out on some outstanding recent games, but even more so for the players themselves. “The whole team would experience that as coming home,” says Kay, the oldest of the two brothers who plays for Dutch second division amateur team DSOV in Vijfhuizen. “Everyone wants to do everything in their power to play in Sint Maarten. The stadium would be filled to capacity!”
Coached by retired Dutch teacher Piet de Jong, the team moved up from Group C to Group B in the Nations League in March last year. They now face Aruba and Caribbean giants Haiti in September. The first game against Aruba on September 6 is considered a home game and the second against Haiti on September 9 an away game. Both matches will be played at the Estadio Centroamericano de Mayagu?z in Mayagu?z, Puerto Rico. They will face the fourth team in the group, Puerto Rico, for two games in October.
The foundation for the success was laid in 2019 when the Sint Maarten Football Federation organised a training camp at the headquarters of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) in Zeist. The intent was to invite players with Sint Maarten roots living in The Netherlands and playing at a decent level to assess if they were good enough to play for the national team.
Kay was part of the original group selected as a result of that training camp. He was deemed eligible as he had lived more than 5 years on Sint Maarten and played at a high enough amateur level in The Netherlands. His brother would join the team later that year.
Both are attacking midfielders for their clubs and the national team, although Kay started off as a “6” or defensive midfielder in a 4-3-3 system. “We try to play your typical Dutch style passing game where we build up from the back. Of course if the game asks for it, we can also play a more physical game against some of the tougher Caribbean teams,” explains Kay. “I started out as a `6’ to help guide the buildup play. But the last couple of years new and better players joined the team so now I can play in my favourite position.”
Indeed, with the arrival of players like Gerwin “Smally” Lake, Chovanie Amatkarijo and Ilounga Pata the level of play has improved tremendously. “We have players now who are fast and have the technical ability to dribble in tight spaces and set up goal opportunities for other players with defense-splitting passes,” says Kay.
Striker Lake has made a massive impact with his prolific goal scoring. During the 2022-2023 campaign he became the CONCACAF Nationals League top scorer with 17 goals.
Professional players Pata and Amatkarijo have added some extra class of their own to the team. Right defender Pata made a transfer from Dutch First Division club Top Oss to Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldavia and recently played two qualifiers for the European Champions League. Left winger Amatkarijo competes at the highest level in Zweden.
While older Gerritsen has already netted two goals for Sint Maarten, one a late equalizer against the U.S. Virgin Islands, his younger brother Roy has still to get on the scoresheet. Part of the reason is that he has played far fewer games due to a nagging ankle injury.
“I injured my ankle against the Turks & Caicos,” recalls Roy, who plays for VVC in Nieuw Vennep. “Because of the Covid 19 pandemic I could not do anything about it. The physiotherapists also could not tell me exactly what the problem was. I actually ended up playing more than a year on a damaged ankle.”
But now he is back to full fitness and hopes to score a few goals of his own. “I have had a couple of chances along the way. One shot crashed against the upright. My moment will come,” he promises.
