Ter Apel
Spirit
Welcome to KLABU in the central reception centre for asylum seekers in Ter Apel. The clubhouse is helping to welcome unaccompanied minors to the Netherlands through our common passion and love for sports.
Ter Apel is located in the northeast of the Netherlands. The village has 9,000 residents and hosts 2,000 newly arrived asylum seekers.
A colourful clubhouse needs a colourful sports court
The initial reception: Ter Apel asylum seeker centre
All newly arrived asylum seekers in the Netherlands need to go to the asylum seeker centre in Ter Apel to start their asylum procedure. Ter Apel is a small village in the north-east of the Netherlands, and the camp is situated 45 minutes walking distance from the town with limited access to public transport. The camp is therefore quite isolated and access to leisure activities is particularly limited.
While the majority of the people in Ter Apel are single adult men and families, there is also a significant group of unaccompanied minors. Unaccompanied minors are children, usually between the ages of 14 and 18, who have travelled to the Netherlands on their own in order to seek asylum. This is a particularly vulnerable group. There are very few positive distractions for these young people during their stay in Ter Apel as they are dealing with extensive trauma and stress.
Designing the clubhouse with the Ter Apel community and muralists from VAAF
Turning the container into a clubhouse with VAAF and the local community
The Ter Apel clubhouse offers a place for daily sports activities and a social space to relax
The KLABU clubhouse in Ter Apel offers a safe, fun and open social space for unaccompanied minors. It is always filled with energy, life and unbeatable spirit!
In close collaboration with the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), we wanted to ensure that children in Ter Apel get moving and take the first steps towards a better future. With this in mind, and as a response to the overcrowding of the Ter Apel reception center in 2022, we opened a KLABU clubhouse in Ter Apel where all unaccompanied minors can come to borrow sports equipment, listen to music and chat to our clubhouse manager Koen. You will recognise the clubhouse through its vibrant colours and beautiful artwork, created by the unaccompanied minors themselves and the muralists duo VAAF. The clubhouse, along with the colourful court, creates a positive and welcoming energy for all, where the unaccompanied minors can come borrow sports equipment, play games and watch TV.
Our clubhouse manager Koen has become a celebrity in Ter Apel – as soon as he arrives and puts the music on, all the kids know the drill – it’s time to choose their favourite sports equipment and have some fun!
When you come to the Ter Apel Spirit, you will see dozens of children rollerblading and playing football - the two favourite activities at the clubhouse.
The sports library is open from Wednesdays to Fridays from 13:00 to 16:00, and we organise additional sports activities during the week with days and hours varying on a weekly basis. These sports activities include basketball clinics with 3x3 Unites, football tournaments with Onyekachi, biking lessons with MV Moves and more.
Together with the community, we showed that sports activities, community building and sharing joyful moments are crucial for a healthy stay in Ter Apel. Celebrating our successes, it is now time to pass the ball to COA, who will take over the operation of the project fully. We are proud of what we have achieved together, and even more proud that we can now successfully pass it on to them for this next phase.
2026 will be a fresh start for the project. COA will ensure the oversight, funding and future of the clubhouse for the years to come. It will be a location where we pilot our new graduation strategy, enabling the project to thrive independently, while remaining close to the KLABU ethos and values through our network of alumni clubhouses.
To celebrate the graduation and next phase of the clubhouse, we will be releasing a unique Ter Apel Spirit jersey in early 2026, designed in collaboration with a young artist from Amsterdam. More info coming soon!
Clubhouse agenda
For three days a week, our sports library and clubhouse is open to the unaccompanied minors in Ter Apel. Here, they can borrow sports equipment, play and hang out together.
Friday
12 December ’25
12:00 - 16:00
Weekly Open Clubhouse
The unaccompanied minors are invited to come to the clubhouse, enjoy a game of football or any other sports they want to play, listen to some music and hang out.
Wednesday
17 December ’25
12:00 - 16:00
Weekly Open Clubhouse
The unaccompanied minors are invited to come to the clubhouse, enjoy a game of football or any other sports they want to play, listen to some music and hang out.
Thursday
18 December ’25
12:00 - 16:00
Weekly Open Clubhouse
The unaccompanied minors are invited to come to the clubhouse, enjoy a game of football or any other sports they want to play, listen to some music and hang out.
Ruliana playing table tennis at the clubhouse
FOOTBALL training on THE KLABU PAINTED PITCH
KLABU team member Rie with the Ter Apel Spirit community
KLABU members enjoying the shade after an intense football match
Impact so far
In the east of the Netherlands, the Ter Apel Spirit unites all unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the country.
- Since the start of our project, over 5,000 unaccompanied minors have joined the activities and enjoyed the clubhouse facility.
- The clubhouse is the only open social space in the unaccompanied minors section where young people can come and socialise outside of their dorms. This combats isolation, loneliness and offers a fruitful place for new friendships to blossom.
- By painting their clubhouse and the football court in front of it, the unaccompanied minors have brought loads of colour to the area and also ensured a sense of ownership and belonging for them, crucial for a feeling of inclusion in Ter Apel.
- From the start, people with a refugee background have been involved in managing the project. At first, a team of adult residents of the reception centre ran it, followed by Samra, originally from Pakistan, and Onyekachi, originally from Nigeria, who organised weekly football trainings. In Samra, many young girls in Ter Apel saw an example, alongside whom they could also play, learn and take part in the fun.
- Since January 2024, three days per week, Koen manages the clubhouse and provides sports training and activities. He has worked as a sports coach for over 10 years at MV moves. Other trainings are provided on an occasional basis by organisations 3x3 Unites, ApenkooiGym and FC Emmen.
- Finally, the Ter Apel Spirit is the gateway into Dutch society for many children. For example, thanks the UEFA Foundation, some were able to go to the Women's Champions League final. Others also got the chance to play in a football tournament in the stadium of FC Emmen and got coached by professional football player Soraya Verhoeve, which was a huge source of excitement and pride.
Discover more about the Ter Apel Spirit, its members and impact through the stories below.
ClubhouseStories
ClubSupport
Ter Apel Spirit is supported by these great organisations and individuals.
The project could not have been realised without many more contributors:
Wear KLABU
By wearing KLABU sportswear, you support refugees in Ter Apel and around the world.
