Situation
At the beginning of the internship, the student had already made it clear to herself that she did not only want to focus on one department (the Foundation), but also wanted to make herself available for activities of other departments or for organisation-wide activities.

The student had the opportunity this year to develop herself in various fields and within different departments, and she wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. By being open to other departments, the student was asked to participate in a number of additional activities throughout the year and was also involved in several events organised by the club.

Task

Tasks

Activities FC Groningen

·       Junior club Bingo ·       Stadium Tours ·       Collection Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur ·       Bliksemstages ·       Leading session during ‘Kwartaalbijeenkomst’ ·       Connection with employees o   Kerstborrel o   AZ – FC Groningen o   World Championship Football o   Business days Martiniplaza

Action

During the first few months of the internship, all the interns had to lead one ‘Bliksemstage’ day. In the bliksemstage, children from secondary school come on day to the football club to get an insight in the work of the football club. In addition to a presentation, the students were given the opportunity to ask questions about what it's like to work within a football club. The student also gave a tour of the stadium, with the opportunity for questions. As the student was the first to lead a lightning internship, she also helped in the development of the program and passed on points for improvement to other students.

In mid-December 2022, the annual Junior Club Bingo took place. During this Bingo, Junior Club members could join online. The organisation of the bingo was held in the changing room of the first team at the stadium. The role of the student was to keep track of the Bingo numbers so that the online system could see beforehand which members would have Bingo. This should have made the course of the bingo easier and fairer. However, during the bingo itself, the system crashed several times, causing some problems with the synchronization of the numbers. As a result, the organisation had no insight into who already had bingo and who did not. The student remained calm together with the organisation and continued with old school pen and paper. All in all, despite these issues, the bingo was a success.

In addition to the standard activities, the student tried to make connections with employees from other departments throughout the year. This started with a polite introduction to all employees and also the reception staff upon arrival. Especially the reception staff were very happy with the introduction because it did not happen often and they sometimes only found out the name of a student after a year. The student also took the time to catch up briefly with the reception staff throughout the year. As one of the only interns from the Foundation, the student was present at the Christmas party. This was the first moment that the student got to know the employees in a different way, and the employees got to know the student. Especially because this was a period of quite a bit of unrest around the first team and the club, the student noticed that many of the employees were really in need of relaxation, resulting in a very enjoyable evening. There was also the opportunity for employees to attend the away game of AZ - FC Groningen. The timing was not ideal, but the student saw this as an opportunity to catch up with several employees and to gain an understanding of how an away game works. The student had never been in an away section for a football match, so it was already quite an experience.

Result

The result of the activities and the presence of the student at certain events, is that the student was involved in the organization and the connection with other employees became better and better. In addition, the student was aware of certain developments and the contact with other departments became easier. The student noticed that many of the employees appreciated this, and that it is something that is often not done enough by students.

Reflection

Looking back on the past year, the student has greatly enjoyed the opportunity she was given to be active throughout the entire organisation of FC Groningen. When the student looks at all the activities she has done, she is satisfied with the extra energy she has put into these activities and what it has resulted in. In this way, the student has been able to learn a lot from other departments, both organizationally and from the knowledge of other employees. The student felt increasingly comfortable within the organization, which was also reflected in a good connection with several employees. The student hopes to be able to contribute to a number of activities in the coming period and to play a role in one of the activities in the future.