Niels Kokmeijer (born 30 December 1977) is a Dutch former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He is the manager of the

Netherlands national beach soccer team The Netherlands national beach soccer team represents the Netherlands in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association, the governing body for football in the Netherlands. Competitive record ...

Career

Kokmeijer, born in Uitgeest,

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

, played as a forward, making his professional debut as being part of the

FC Volendam Football Club Volendam () is a professional Association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion ...

squad in the 1998–99 season. He also played for

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

and

HFC Haarlem HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 1982 ...

before joining

Go Ahead Eagles Go Ahead Eagles () are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's h ...

in 2004–05, playing in the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...

Leg incident

In his first and only season at Go Ahead, Kokmeijer was seriously injured by opponent

Rachid Bouaouzan Rachid Bouaouzan (; born 20 February 1984) is a Dutch-Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a winger. Club career Sparta Rotterdam and The Kokmeijer case Born in Rotterdam to Moroccan parents, Bouaouzan started out his footba ...

playing for

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...

on 17 December 2004. Kokmeijer's leg was broken badly and he was forced to retire from professional football. Sparta Rotterdam suspended Bouaouzan for the rest of the season, which was more than the ten-match ban the KNVB awarded him. Besides that he was taken to court by the Dutch government and Kokmeijer for

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

, a unique moment in Dutch football history. Bouaouzan received a suspended six-month jail sentence.

Career statistics

References

1977 births Living people People from Uitgeest Dutch men's footballers Footballers from North Holland Men's association football forwards Eerste Divisie players FC Volendam players SC Heerenveen players HFC Haarlem players Go Ahead Eagles players {{Netherlands-footy-forward-stub