Sport in Maastricht

The expert team at Expat Centre Maastricht Region can reassure you about one thing: the range of sports activities in Maastricht is huge and everyone is welcome. We spoke to Saskia Kempen, Marketing and Communication Officer at Maastricht Sport about what they organise and where information about sport clubs and activities can be found.

Tell us more about Maastricht Sport, who are you and what is your goal? 

’Maastricht Sport is a dedicated team of around 100 people from Gemeente Maastricht who are focussed entirely on sport in our city. A large part of the staff works on site at primary schools, at Geusseltbad swimming pools and teaches at various locations throughout Maastricht. We also cooperate with various partners in the city, such as Maastricht UMC+, general practitioners, physios, community workers from organisations such as Trajekt, GGD Zuid-Limburg and child centres. 

Our goal is to get people in Maastricht exercising throughout their lives, at their own fitness and interest level.’

How do you get the city exercising exactly?

‘Maastricht Sport created customised programmes with and for the healthcare sector. The sports and exercise programmes are used to improve the health and overall physical and mental condition of people living in Maastricht. We have a great range of free sports activities with various exercise groups for adults and seniors; from badminton to yoga. The full range including explanations of the groups can be found on our website (link in Dutch). 

We are also here for the youngest residents of Maastricht through our Gezond Kindcentrum in Beweging, GKB (link in Dutch) programme. With this programme we encourage a healthy and sporting environment at primary school, because the basis for a healthy lifestyle is laid at a very young age. A total of 25 of the 28 kindcentra (child centres) in Maastricht are affiliated and follow a GKB programme tailored to each location. This is broader than the gym classes taught by an LO+er (Lichamelijke Opvoeding), a physical education student teacher from Maastricht Sport. This is because the “+” in the “LO+” stands for the extra activities they organise for the children. For example, they also look at exercise before, during and after school, healthy nutrition (in collaboration with JOGG) and the design of exercise-friendly schoolyards.

Geusseltbad swimming pools also fall under Maastricht Sport and offer a diversity of programmes: from general swimming to swimming lessons, as well as a large range of zorgzwemmen: an in-pool exercise programme for anyone who benefits from swimming in warm water (temperature of 33 degrees).  There are also groups for people with specific complaints such as rheumatism, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. 

Maastricht Sport is constantly evolving and together with our partners we gather details about sporting requirements from the city’s residents and develop new programmes. For example, sport recently became part of Gemeente Maastricht’s civic integration programme for newly arrived immigrants and we lead the municipal campaign for fall prevention for residents aged 65 and older at risk of falling.’’

It seems like you guys have also started some new projects recently, can you tell us a bit more?

‘Certainly, there is the expansion of GKB to secondary schools with Gezond VO in Beweging (GVOB)  this academic year. Currently 3 secondary schools in Maastricht have joined: VMBO Maastricht, Terra Nigra College and Novo-college. An exercise and nutrition consultant is placed at the school and they work with a tailor-made programme to further promote a healthy and vital school environment. More information can be found on our website (link in Dutch).

The newly developed online platform Beweeg in Maastricht about sports in Maastricht which has been running now for over 1.5 years. Here you will find all the sports on offer from the participating clubs/associations in Maastricht, also the upcoming sports events, inspiring theme pages and the latest news. 

Last but not least. We recently started offering club support again. Clubs or associations can approach our clubondersteuner and, depending on their query or situation, they can receive the necessary help. For example, tips on recruiting members, help in making sports facilities more sustainable or looking for a location to carry out sports activities. We cannot solve everything and will sometimes refer to another organisation, but we try to make and maintain the vitality of the city's sports clubs. We also have an extensive knowledge base that sports providers can access to utilise necessary information.’

How does someone who has recently moved to the Maastricht Region find their way to their favourite sport or perhaps another interesting sport or sports club? 

‘This is where Beweeg in Maastricht comes in. The platform is still under development and growing, however residents can search for a new sport or club online. Using handy filters (type of sport types, sport characteristics, age and city district), one can indicate preferences to find a sport. In the end, you get a unique overview of the relevant sports provider. This puts the resident in direct contact with the sports club, where they can find all relevant information or make contact themselves.

The website of Beweeg in Maastricht is also in English including an event calendar. '

What type of events do you organise?

‘All sports events of which we are aware can also be found on Beweeg in Maastricht. Especially now that spring is making a reappearance, various sporting events will start again, all of which you can find on the Beweeg in Maastricht online platform.

We also regularly organise sports events ourselves, especially for the younger target groups. We have free sports activities every school holidays, which we call the Experience. By collaborating with Kaleidoscope (link in Dutch) we also ensure that every activity offers something ‘cultural’. 

Several times a year we organise sports clinics in cooperation with sports providers in the city. These events are mainly for children aged 6 to 12. The clinics focus on a number of different sports so that children can learn about a sport for free. The most recent clinic involved bouldering, tennis, cheerleading, freerunning and athletics, so the sports are very diverse. We are always open to clubs that would like to highlight their sport through a free trial lesson.

On theme days (such as walking day or cycling day), we often organise a sporting activity for adults and seniors. 

It is good to keep an eye on the sports calendar on Beweeg in Maastricht for the information about these types of sporting activities. This certainly also applies to families with children. Many sports providers also offer free trial lessons for children who want to try out a new sport.’

What are the most popular sports in Maastricht at the moment?

‘This was the subject of a study in 2024 by our policy officer in collaboration with the Mulier Institute, a scientific research agency focused on sports and physical activity. The 5 most popular sports in Maastricht are:

1. Working out on your own (indoors)
2. Running/jogging
3. Walking/Hiking/Rambling
4. On-road cycling including long distance cycling, touring and mountain biking
5. Swimming

Incidentally, these are the most popular sports throughout the Netherlands. Except that we do a bit more recreational cycling and touring cycling here than elsewhere in the country. Nationally, football scores a bit higher, however that sport falls just outside the top 5 here.

Urban sports like skating, freerunning and BMX are also on the rise in Maastricht, and Gemeente Maastricht is interested in actively engaging residents in these newer fields of sporting activity (link in Dutch).

Some more interesting data:

• 30% of adults in Maastricht are members of a sports club, higher than the 28% national average.
• 63% of young people in Maastricht are members of a sports association, more often 12-14 year olds than 15-17 year olds.

Is there perhaps a particular sport where you notice a lot of interest from internationals? 

‘The Maastricht Cricket Club is a good example. The club of about 135 mostly English-speaking members uses several different locations in Maastricht. The club is growing and has expressed a desire to play in competition. To make this possible, Gemeente Maastricht started with the construction of  a cricket pitch at Sportpark West in Malberg. Cricket fits in perfectly with the total offer at this sports location, where besides football; Gaelic football, rugby, baseball, softball, lacrosse and gridiron (US football) are also played.

The sports interests and needs of residents are constantly changing, and as a municipality you have to respond to this. This certainly also has to do with the large number of students in the city. The provision of sports like lacrosse, baseball and gridiron has been provided to meet the demand of the students and student associations.’

There was news coverage recently about an additional investment being made for outdoor sports facilities?

‘Correct, almost 3 million euro will be invested in outdoor sports facilities in Maastricht in the coming years. Examples of this are: an artificial grass pitch for sports parks Daalhof and Wolder and Sportpark West will get a cricket pitch. All this is being done with the larger goal of getting more Maastricht residents exercising. The news item (link in Dutch) explains quite well and in detail why the investment is being made.’