Giant tifo as Dutch team honour retiring kit woman

Dutch top-flight club Go Ahead Eagles rolled out a giant tifo in tribute to their long-serving kit woman.

Carla Whittie is retiring from Go Ahead Eagles after 28 years at the Eredivisie club and fans held up a giant banner of her face before their match against AZ Alkmaar.

Before kick-off on Thursday, the 53-year-old received a certificate of appreciation on the pitch.

The game ended 0-0 but the tifo stole the show, reading: "Carla club icon. Thank you for everything!"

The players also wore shirts with the message "Carla, thank you".

Whittie joined the club in July 1998, initially as a volunteer before her role quickly became a paid position.

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The tifo honoured the 53-year-old at Go Ahead Eagles' Eredivisie fixture

"When I started at Go Ahead Eagles, I wasn't even allowed to enter the players' lounge," she told the club website in 2023. "In fact, I wasn't even in the team photo. Kit people were never really a full part of the squad at the time. Nowadays it's different.

"My experience was different in the early years. Back then, I sometimes really sat on the bench like a supporter. Then I was eating myself up if we didn't play a good game. That took about 15 years. Nowadays it's different: players are now just my colleagues.

"Within the current organisation of Go Ahead Eagles, I am the only one. I don't think anyone has ever been on the payroll for so long. I'm really proud of it!"

The club said Whittie is "really loved by all the employees at the club, the players and the supporters".

During her time at the club she witnessed multiple relegations and promotions, winning the Dutch Cup last season, and the team competing in the Europa League.