Article #46898

From Curaçao and Cape Verde to Morocco and Turkey, fans reflect Dutch city where loyalties are shared, not divided

Three hours before their team’s opening World Cup match on 14 June, about 4,000 football fans are expected to pack into a giant former concrete grain store in Rotterdam that is one of the Dutch city’s best-known nightclub venues.

However, the flags will be blue, not orange, and the aroma of arros moro will fill the air as the room pulsates to the beat of conga drums and ritmo kombina. The Maassilo has been booked to host the watch party for Curaçao, the least populous country to qualify for the World Cup and a constituent nation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Many Dutch supporters will be cheering along with them. All but two of Curaçao’s squad were born in the Netherlands; 12 of them play for clubs in the Eredivisie or the second-tier Keuken Kampioen Divisie.

The team are managed by the longtime Dutch coach Dick Advocaat. The Dutch king and queen are planning to attend at least one of the Blue Wave’s group matches.