A club in the second division of Dutch soccer will honour the Canadian soldiers who liberated their city 80 years ago by wearing a special edition kit this weekend.
On Wednesday, April 9, SC Cambuur—which is based in Leeuwarden, Netherlands and is play in the Eerste Divisie this season—unveiled the kits honouring the Royal Canadian Dragoons on their social media channels. They’ll wear them on Saturday, April 12, when they host Jong FC Utrecht at the Kooi Stadion. The date of the match is just three days before the 80th anniversary of the Dragoons freeing Leeuwarden from German occupation in the Second World War.
The kits, made by Adidas, are inspired by the Dragoons’ dress uniforms. They are predominantly red with a white sash running diagonally across the front. The front panel of the shirt also contains a pattern of repeating red maple leaves that are slightly darker than the rest of the shirt and have black outlines.
The club crest sits on the left chest, inside the white sash. The crew neck collar is black, while the Adidas shoulder stripes are white. The Adidas logo on the right chest is black, and the front-of-shirt sponsor logo is black with a white outline.
The back of the jersey is solid red, with white names, numbers and sponsor logos. The Dragoons’ regimental badge featuring a springbok appears on the back collar. The springbok honours the regiment’s service in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899-1902).
Photos posted to social media on Wednesday showed the shirts paired with black shorts with yellow stripes down the sides and solid black socks, further mimicking the Dragoons’ uniforms.
SC Cambuur, which was founded in 1964, typically wears yellow kits with blue trim at home. They are currently fifth in the Eerste Divisie standings with five matches to play, one point behind Dordrecht for the last automatic promotion place to the Eredivisie.
The Royal Canadian Dragoons are the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence, and they are currently based in CFB Petawawa, Ontario. Originally established in December 1883, the unit has seen action in the North-West Rebellion, the Second Boer War, and the War in Afghanistan, along with several battles in the First World War—including the Battle of the Somme—and the Second World War.
