Solheim Cup as starting point for equal sports world: 'Things must change'
In September 2026, Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt will briefly transform into the center of the sports world. For three days, the twelve best female golfers from Europe will compete against the twelve chosen ones from the United States for the prestigious Solheim Cup.
With approximately one hundred thousand spectators in Cromvoirt and over four million international households watching the match on television, the event can truly be called a global spectacle. But those who think this is 'just' a top tournament are mistaken.
An equal sports world
The Solheim Cup, brought to the Netherlands by Bernardus Golf, serves a much larger purpose. It not only puts women in the spotlight, but is also the starting point of a completely new movement: SAM. The foundation, established in September, aims to make the sports world more equal with BrabantSport as connector, Bernardus Golf as location, and one clear goal: a sports world where equal opportunities for women are self-evident.
Expert by experience
For Nienke Nijenhuis, director-administrator of BrabantSport, board member of Foundation SAM, board member of Elite Golf at the Dutch Golf Federation and former top golfer, this story begins long before the Solheim Cup. On the fairway, with a bag full of clubs and a head full of ambitions. In the Dutch team everything is still well arranged. Travel, tournaments, coaching: everything is funded. But then Nienke takes the step to professional and qualifies for the Ladies European Tour.
"The moment I turned professional in 2000, I was suddenly on my own," says Nienke. "The financial support from the federation stopped, I had to pay for my own coach and physio and arrange my own sponsors. The latter was difficult, because companies are very focused on male athletes." On top of that comes another harsh reality. Prize money in women's golf turns out to be miles behind that of men.
"In 2005 I had my best year on the Tour and finished 61st on the annual ranking (Order of Merit). My total prize money was €25,000, while my male colleagues earned an average of €250,000 to €300,000 just to retain their playing rights (positions around 85-90). An enormous contrast."
Not an ambition, but a necessity
Barely making ends meet and having to go out every year for new sponsor income are the main reasons for Nienke to stop her professional career. "I no longer felt balance between what I invested day in and day out and the absence of really big results to become financially independent and get on the radar of sponsors. Sometimes I earned one hundred euros in one week. I accepted that I couldn't change that on my own at that moment, but it has always remained a driving force."
She continues: "I am therefore very proud that we as BrabantSport are a founding partner of SAM. Through this Foundation we are committed in Brabant and the rest of the Netherlands to ensure that everyone gets equal opportunities to participate in sports, perform and inspire. Structural change is needed, things must change. A strong sports world can only exist when equality and equal opportunities are self-evident. For everyone. That is not an ambition, but a necessity."
More than a tournament
Where Nienke brings her experience and drive as a board member, it is Marieke Maas - program director of SAM - who works with the movement on a daily basis. In her previous position at BrabantSport, where she was responsible for social impact through the power of sports, she sat at the table with Bernardus on behalf of the organization. With her background as a brand strategist, Marieke knows how to translate the ambitions of BrabantSport and Bernardus into a clear plan. And so SAM is born: a fresh movement that goes beyond golf and is committed to a sports world where equal opportunities for women are self-evident.
Foundation SAM
The first step that BrabantSport and Bernardus Golf take is to conduct research into gender (in)equality in sports, carried out by the Mulier Institute. The outcomes leave little to the imagination: only ten to fifteen percent of sports media attention goes to women, women's sports receive around ten percent of the sponsorship budget, less than a quarter of administrators at sports federations are women, and international female athletes earn painfully less than men.
SAM is therefore urgently needed. Marieke: "The sports world was designed by and for men - that comes from history, culture and habits. As a result, it does not fit women and their wishes and needs in a number of areas. By looking at leadership, offerings, opportunities and visibility again together with men and women, we can make a movement towards more balance. And always from a positive character: what is possible? Where are the opportunities?"
She continues: "SAM works across all sports, year-round, and creates connections between sports federations, clubs, companies and social organizations. Our ultimate dream is a sports world where women can continue to participate in sports at every stage of their lives and have equal opportunities, both on the field and in boardrooms."
To make that dream come true, SAM works with a concrete theory of change: first the desired situation is outlined, then activities and pilots follow - which in turn lead to measurable results and lasting impact.
A redesign of the playing field
SAM's work does not stop at the Solheim Cup; it is part of an ongoing program with multiple milestones. Marieke: "From December, the collaboration with the Dutch Golf Federation (NGF) will start, followed by research, insights and meetings. During the Solheim Cup we want to show what has been achieved so far and what ideas there are for the future. Visitors can make their thoughts about sports known via an AI tool, while in the design lab concepts are tested and discussed. Clinics and role models show what women find important and fun in sports and share their experiences about leadership and choices."
"The goal is to be able to show at the Solheim Cup how great the need is for more balance in sports and what a redesign of the playing field can look like," concludes Marieke. "The same approach can then be deployed across sports with other federations. Thus the Solheim Cup becomes not an endpoint, but a powerful starting point for a movement that goes beyond golf."
Streamers'
- 'The Solheim Cup is not an endpoint, but a powerful starting point for a movement that goes beyond golf'
- 'Equality in sports is not an ambition, but a necessity'
- 'That experience of inequality has always remained a driving force'
This article was automatically translated from Dutch. Read the original Dutch version.
