Thomas Vermaelen and Femke Maes unveil Belgian Red Court in Lokeren

After Lier, Hasselt and Sint-Niklaas, Lokeren had the honour ​ of opening their Belgian Red Court. A total of 40 Belgian Red Courts are planned over the next few years. Former internationals Thomas Vermaelen and Femke Maes, with a total of 85 and 84 caps respectively for the Red Devils and Red Flames, will be the ambassadors of this Court. Together with Robin Cnops, Football & Social Responsibility Specialist at the RBFA, alderman for Sport Marjoleine de Ridder (CD&V) and numerous youngsters from Lokeren, the duo officially inaugurated the pitch on the Hoedhaar site. In cooperation with the Lokeren football clubs, numerous activities were organised for children of all ages.

“Football should be accessible to everyone. Any project committed to this should be extra welcomed. I am therefore more than proud to support such a special project. I can't wait to see how this pitch grows into a coming and going of footballers from all layers of society. The fact that in addition to the sporting aspect, attention is also paid to the social aspect of football makes this project extra beautiful and special.”

- Thomas Vermaelen, ex-Red Devil

Court Coach

The construction of the pitch started in July 2022, since December the Belgian Red Court is ready for use. The names of the ambassadors remained a mystery all this time. Now that it becomes known that Thomas Vermaelen and Femke Maes will take care of that task, the pitch becomes available to the youth of Lokeren.

“When I was asked to become an ambassador, I did not hesitate for a second. As a player, I first started playing with friends at FC Daknam, a team in my hometown Lokeren. I hope this pitch will also introduce many young girls to football, that they will enjoy it as much as I did then and who knows, maybe one of them will become a Red Flame later on.”

- Femke Maes, ex-Red Flame

Opening up the pitch is by no means the end point. Besides football clubs, we also want to involve as many schools, youth organisations and local associations as possible via various initiatives in cooperation with the city. For instance, activities for boys and girls will take place on a regular basis, supervised ​ by two Court Coaches. The search for these Court Coaches in Lokeren is ongoing. Applicants can apply via our website. The activities the coaches will organise will focus on both the social and the technical aspect of football.

“The Belgian Red Courts help to shape the society of tomorrow and we are extremely happy that we can now officially start in Lokeren as well. Everyone will be welcome to play football at the Hoedhaar site. We strongly believe that the Belgian Red Courts will bring people from different backgrounds together. Spurred on by the Court Coaches, it should grow into a real hotspot for Lokeren youngsters.”

- Robin Cnops, Football Social Responsibility Specialist at RBFA