Maldon and Cuijk in Holland set up a twinning link in 1969. Cuijk is a town of a similar size to Maldon situated on the western bank of the River Maas in eastern Holland, just to the south of Nijmegen.
As part of the twinning link Maldon Saints began an association with a youth football team, VV Siol, from Cuijk in 1977. VV Siol was formed in 1945 by Canadian forces stationed in Holland at the end of World War II and now provides football for all ages from 6 to 18 similar to Maldon Saints. They have a club house complete with a bar, committee room and changing facilities. There are six football pitches outside, some of which are shared with another local club.
Every two years since 1977, a team from Maldon Saints has visited Cuijk to take part in an international tournament which in the past attracted teams such as Borussia Muchengladbach and Rot Wiess Essen from Germany. In the intervening years a team from VV Siol visit Maldon. The exchanges always take place between teams at the U14 age group level.
The visits are much more than just about playing football. Visitors stay with host families during their stay of four nights and this arrangement has resulted in many long standing friendships. One day is normally dedicated to a trip to a place interest, mainly for the boys. In this country in the past we have taken them to London to see various sites. In more recent times tours of the old Wembley and the Emirates stadium have been the order of the day. In Holland earlier visits were to the theme park at Efterling, Arnhem Zoo and the new Ajax stadium have featured in the later trips.
2012 Visit to Maldon
2015 Visit to Maldon