Dutch Cats fan Hans sadly passes away
football fans called the Continentals in Rotterdam back in 1978.
In 1981, a number of fellow Continentals joined him in a visit to the city and he arranged a football match between the fan group and the Sunderland supporters club.
Due to the lack of European fans in attendance at Sunderland games in those days, Hans attracted quite a bit of attention from the media, both in the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands.
Indeed, the media loved to hear the story of how he had falleninlovewithSunderland – and, of course, Hans was always happy to oblige.
Hans made many friends during his stays in Sunderland. Those included Geoff Davidson, a key figure at the club during the 1980s.
But in November 1994, Hans took his love for the club to another level. He realised his ambition and moved from Rotterdam to Sunderland.
By then, Hans had retired as a civil servant and nothing was going to stop him from fulfilling his dream.
The city became his home. The media loved it, with Hans even having to organise a press conference at the stadium.
For four years Hans lived in Roker and from his window could see his beloved Roker Park.
During that period he went to nearly every Sunderland home game and quite a few away games.
He returned to Rotterdam where he lived for a few more years before he moved to Breda in the south of Holland.
But as he became older, traveling became harder and although his loyalty for the club never wavered, he had to limit the number of visits to Sunderland to once a year.
He was diagnosed with leukemia at the end of February this year and spent the last few weeks of his life on a ward in a Breda hospital.
Hans peacefully passed away on the morning of March 25.
Hans’ funeral will be in Breda on April 2, 2021, but due to Covid-19, only 30 people will be able to attend.
Erik van den Polder, a friend of Hans, said: “Hans was a lovely person with a genuine passion for British football and without any doubt, Sunderland’s biggest ambassador in the Netherlands. He will be sadly missed by his family and friends.”