KNVB and PwC combine knowledge and technology for “Oranje”

For Veronique Roos, member of the board of directors of PwC Netherlands, and Dave Dekker, commercial director of the KNVB, the collaboration is based on a shared ambition to use football’s connecting power to create positive impact in society at large.

From sponsorship to real-world impact

Dave Dekker says: “For this partnership, we looked at how we can leverage PwC’s knowledge and expertise, especially in technology and data, to further advance football.”

Veronique Roos adds: “With the knowledge and experience we have in-house, we feel a strong social responsibility to contribute to what matters for the Netherlands. Football, the number one national sport, is a major connector in that context.”

Collective spirit

“My 19-year-old son has been playing football for years, and at matches I still find myself next to the same parents I was sitting with 15 years ago.” Roos says. “The boys my son plays football with coach each other and help each other out”. That’s immediately familiar to Dekker: “When you talk about football, everyone’s got their own feelings and stories about it. The sense of togetherness, community and connection is embedded in everything we stand for as the KNVB. In football, everyone belongs—whether they are a player, a fan or a parent. It’s a community of ten million people. And every weekend, you’ll find four million of them on or around the pitch or at the sports hall.”  

From football association to digital organisation

The KNVB is in the middle of a transformation into a more data-driven and digital organisation, Dekker explains. “The KNVB has evolved beyond being an association that only organises competitions. We are becoming a data-driven and digitally skilled organisation, with the goal of keeping people connected to football for as long as possible—whether as players or fans. At the same time, we face significant technological challenges. That’s where a partner like PwC is invaluable, bringing in expertise and translating it into the KNVB’s practical reality. In this way, we use technology—from AI to data—to organise football more intelligently and boost the fan experience. It’s a massive help to us.”

Knowledge as input

“Within our knowledge partnership, we apply our expertise to issues that strengthen the position of football in the Netherlands and its connecting role in society, across areas such as data, technology, inclusion, and fan experience,” says Roos. “To achieve this we work in multidisciplinary teams with professionals from both the KNVB and PwC. People at PwC are eager to work on this initiative precisely because these projects bring together social relevance and innovation.”

One tangible aspect of the collaboration is PwC’s support in exploring a European Para-Football Championship. By calculating different scenarios and providing data-driven insights, PwC helped the KNVB gain a better understanding of the organisational, financial, and social impact of such an event. “At the KNVB, we want everyone to be able to participate in football,” says Dekker. “It helps enormously to have access to the data and expertise required to demonstrate the impact a tournament like this can have, for the sport and for society as a whole.”  

Using AI to forecast Netherlands World Cup results

Speaking of the World Cup: the 2026 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner. Roos is looking forward to it: “Mention the World Cup and you mention a World Cup pool. Whether you’re doing it with friends or colleagues, the coming month will once again revolve around predicting football results. In our World Cup campaign, we tap into that by launching the ‘Prompting for Oranje’ campaign. A unique competition centered around former international and ex-national coach Frank de Boer, a PwC data expert, and an Oranje fan. Based on interviews we conducted with them, we translate their way of thinking into AI prompts, which we then use to predict the matches and the chances of Oranje.”

The World Cup period will be a busy one for Dekker: “Alongside our focus on expanding the fan base through the tournament, I’ll also be there myself, watching from the stands as a supporter. So, it will be a doubly exciting time for me. It’s not just as a fan that I’m hoping they reach the next round, but also as a KNVB director—because we have so many great plans.”

“The ‘Prompting for Oranje’ campaign captures the partnership in miniature,” Roos says. “It’s all about combining data, human insight, and a healthy dose of Oranje fever. The outcome? That story is still Oranje’s to write.”