Oualichi Soccer Association has a new board president
PHILIPSBURG – Angelo Brill has been elected President of the new board of the Oualichi Soccer Association (‘Oualichi SA’). Brill is replacing outgoing president, Dagmar Daal, who will remain at the club as an advisor. Brill is also joined by Richard Hazel as Treasurer, Whitney Walsh as the Boardmember overseeing the Women’s Team and Joel Wilson as the vice-president/secretary. Joel Wilson will be overseeing the men’s team.
Since its inception in November 2012, followed by its official establishment on May 21, 2013, the Oualichi Soccer Association by its founders, the twin sisters Dagmar and Danaë, and Nancy Joubert, initially focused on the promotion of women’s soccer in St. Maarten. The club was then represented by an all-female board consisting of the founders and additionally, Sandra den Ouden and Julissa Frans.
During the past six year, the club has expanded its original objectives. The club now has 30 youth members – aged 4 to 14, and a senior men’s team (besides its initial women’s team).
Co-founder Dagmar Daal recently stepped down as the club’s president; she is succeeded by Angelo Brill. Daal, an attorney, and her twin sister, Danaë Daal, were the driving force behind the development of women’s football for the past 7 years. This was done in an effort to expose more girls to the sport they love. With the support of numerous volunteers, they set up: the High School Competition, Summer Camps, the international female tournament named the Dutch Caribbean Soccer Cup (2015 and 2017) and several international games.
The High School Competition started as a girls only tournament in 2014 and continued the following years with both boys and girls participating. The Sint Maarten Football Federation took over the organization of the tournament in 2017.
The Dutch Caribbean Soccer Cup, a club tournament, was a special event as Sint Maarten was the host to players from the other Dutch Caribbean Islands and Suriname.
Daal: “Danaë started the team in 2012. While her initial goal was to just play football with other women in Sint Maarten, it rapidly turned into a movement as the goal transformed into inspiring more women and girls to join the sport and have fun while playing it. It was hard work and numerous volunteer hours were invested into the movement- all for the love of the game. In addition, both Danaë and I ended up working on a national level as General Secretary of the Federation (besides the work done on club level). Danaë from 2015-2017 and myself from 2017-2019. Danaë moved to Curacao in 2017 and continued her work in women’s football on our sister island.
In the end, both of us look back satisfied with the progress and the results achieved so far. Most importantly, we have seen young players develop themselves both as athletes and as persons. Several of the young players turned into leaders themselves within the football community. We have also seen lasting friendships form. As the author Khalil Gibran stated: progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be. This has always been the vision of Oualichi when it comes to the development of the sport.
The club will now continue to progress as it is in great hands with Angelo Bril as its new President. Together with his fellow board members, we shall see them elevate the club to a higher level.
A massive thanks goes out to the former board members: Nancy Joubert, Sandra Den Ouden, Julissa Frans, Andy Huang, Jean Pierre Tapia, Christian Grannum, Yohishi Romney and Ludmila Duncan. Their dedication to the club and its vision, was key to making it all work.”
Currently the club’s main focus is on the promotion and development of youth soccer. In order strengthen its development programs, Oualichi SA is looking for corporate partners to help covering costs for field reservations, equipment, tournament fees, administration and other expenditures related to the development of the sport. In addition, more coaches will be needed.
The club promotes its activities extensively on social media and in local news outlets, thus giving sponsors enough exposure whenever promotional opportunities arise.
For more information, visit the Facebook page (Oualichi Soccer Association) and the Instagram page: oualichisoccer.
Photo caption: From L to R: Whitney Walsh, Dagmar Daal, Angelo Brill and Richard Hazel. Photo by Jacqueline Hooftman.
