Launch of Foundation SAM: first national movement for equality in sports

On Monday September 8, Foundation SAM was launched at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, where next year in September the largest international women's golf tournament (Solheim Cup) will take place: the very first national movement that structurally addresses inequality in sports. SAM is supported by NOC*NSF, BrabantSport, Bernardus Golf (host of the Solheim Cup), the Dutch Golf Federation (NGF) and the KNWU – who together are building a sports world where equality is the norm, not the exception.

"The figures don't lie: Only 10–15% of sports media attention in the Netherlands goes to women, women's sports receive only 10% of the sponsorship budget, at Olympic sports federations only 24% of board members are women and the share of female coaches in elite sports programs is around 15–20%. And I could go on. This can and must change," says Marieke Maas - director of Foundation SAM.

A large and urgent gap

Gender equality means that everyone gets equal opportunities, visibility, appreciation and reward in and through sports, regardless of gender. SAM initially focuses on the largest and most urgent gap: that between men and women. From that solid foundation, SAM wants to create room for broader gender diversity in the future.

Join us! Connect with SAM for more equality in sports via www.stichting-sam.com