‘Thousands of supporters gaining personalized access to their favorite stadium every week, via their club's app. It's fantastic that we've been contributing to Dutch Football for years with this, for both supporters and clubs.’
February 27, 2025
Siip is heading into an anniversary month: in March 2025, the technology will have been used weekly in Dutch football stadiums for two years. It's a great moment to look back on those years, together with CEO Remco Voorhorst. Years of successes, learning moments, and valuable partnerships. ‘With hundreds of thousands of successful visits, thanks to Siip's technology.’
How do you look back on the past few years?
‘I look back on an valuable and enriching period. Football plays an important role in Dutch society. As Siip, we contribute to that, allowing us to be truly relevant.
It's also especially enjoyable to work with football clubs, because anything related to sports energizes me. It's fantastic to have been able to get a closer look behind the scenes of these clubs over the past few years and to help them think about a suitable solution. And when I'm watching a football match on TV, not live in the stadium, and I see thousands of people cheering who entered their stadium using our technology, I'm incredibly proud of that!’
What has proven important in this regard?
‘That we truly want to understand 'Football' and its inherent complexity. By that, I mean that we've been able to listen carefully and effectively capture that in technology. And we're still doing that; we're certainly not standing still in that regard.
Technology that is necessary, but also offers convenience. And complies with laws and regulations. Compliance and convenience truly go hand in hand in this.
We also like to make implementations as easy as possible, and therefore help clubs with explaining and, if necessary, providing assistance with the technology. This means we truly stand alongside the club's responsible parties as a collaborative partner, understanding their needs. This differs for each club. And in all this, the app users – in this case, supporters – are always central. Convenience for the supporter: that's what the solution is designed for, and our support for clubs revolves around that too.’
What was your biggest learning from that?
‘That it's important to keep listening to signals and offer various options. For example, we offer our technology with personalized access in an app that we can build, but also in apps in collaboration with other app developers. In new and existing apps.
Furthermore, we notice that internal dynamics within organizations are important and not always predictable. This sometimes makes things difficult, even for suppliers. Patience is the keyword here, but again, so is convenience. Because something new doesn't necessarily have to be difficult. We are increasingly helping with that too.’
What makes me most proud is the appreciation of the people we do it for.
Our mission has already been accomplished, as we help thousands of visitors weekly gain fast, digital access to their favorite stadium and receive hardly any questions about it. I also love seeing how many people share their tickets, allowing others to benefit from the convenience of this digital solution.
We receive a lot of positive feedback from supporters, even in direct personal contact. One particular instance that stuck with me was during a fan evening where the app was introduced: the sheer disbelief at the app's speed and the joy this fan immediately shared with others in the room, so proud was he of his club's innovation. Wonderful!
What's on the agenda for the near future?
Together with the clubs, the KNVB, and VWS/Sportinnovator, we've successfully implemented a fantastic solution. This was a co-production aimed at contributing to various social and technical challenges.
We're keen to expand this further to help even more supporters gain digital access to their favorite stadium. Additionally, we are and will remain active in other sectors with our digital ID Wallet solutions.
