André Kamperveen

Statue of Kamperveen in front of the stadium named after him

Rudi André Kamperveen (born September 27, 1924 in Paramaribo , Suriname ; † December 8, 1982 ibid) was a Surinamese athlete, sports manager, politician and entrepreneur.

Life

Kamperveen learned to play soccer as a street soccer player in his hometown of Paramaribo. At the age of 18 he was called up for military service, in his spare time he played for the military sports club MVV , with which he won the state championship in 1948 and 1949 . In 1950 he received a one-year contract with the Brazilian professional club Paysandu SC . During his football career in the 1940s he was a center forward and captain of the Surinamese national football team . In the Netherlands he was the first professional from Suriname to play for HFC Haarlem .

After his career he became Minister of Sport in Suriname. He helped found the Caribbean Football Union , whose first president he was elected in 1978. He was also Vice President of FIFA .

On December 8, 1982, Kamperveen and 14 other men who had spoken out against Desi Bouterse's military regime were killed in Fort Zeelandia . The acts became known as the December murders. His body showed injuries to the jaw and a swollen face, he had 18 gunshot wounds in the chest, one gunshot wound in the right skull, a broken femur and a broken arm.

He was inducted into the CONCACAF Hall of Fame. The André Kamperveen Stadium was named after him on October 1, 2000.

Web links

• Heroes: André Kamperveen - Suriname's Man of the People . Detailed CV on a website about soccer in the Caribbean
• Vita von Kamperveen on a website about the December murders (Dutch)
• Entry Kamperveen in De eerste Surinaamse sportencyclopedie by Ricky W. Stutgard (Dutch)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Human Rights Committee (pdf) bayefsky.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
2. ^ Members of the Hall of Fame . on the CONCACAF website. Retrieved December 19, 2016.