Sunday, December 26, 2021 at 12:20 PM• Last update: 12:23

FC Twente will pay tribute to the death of Desmond Tutu on Sunday. The South African archbishop passed away today at the age of 90. He was made an honorary member of the club in December 2012 during a visit to a match at De Grolsch Veste. FC Twente wishes its loved ones a lot of strength in coping with the loss.

Tutu was a staunch opponent of apartheid in South Africa. The cleric was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his nonviolent resistance. In 1985, Tutu became the first black Archbishop of Cape Town and thus the head of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. In the late 1990s, doctors diagnosed Tutu with prostate cancer. After that, he was hospitalized several times for cancer treatments, among other things. In 2010, he officially withdrew from public view.

Tutu was nevertheless in the Netherlands at the time to draw attention to the Medical Knowledge Institute (MKI), an organization that strives to improve living conditions in South African townships. For this occasion FC Twente also played with MKI on the shirt. The then FC Twente commissioner Aldo van der Laan was a member of the Friends MKI Foundation. Tutu appeared on the field before the game against sc Heerenveen dressed in a shirt of the Enschede club, received a standing ovation from the 30,000 spectators and was serenaded with ‘Tutu olé’. He was made an honorary member that day.

Then trainer Steve McClaren called Tutu’s visit ‘a milestone’ for FC Twente at the time. “He is a man of unprecedented stature,” said the British trainer. “I thought it was fantastic to be able to shake his hand. It was a very special moment for me and for FC Twente.” TC Tubantia points out on Sunday that a lunch with sponsors and an auction yielded 101,800 euros at the time. In a generous mood, then chairman Joop Munsterman also promised another 50,000 euros on behalf of FC Twente, but the newspaper wonders whether that was ever transferred.

After all, not everyone was equally enthusiastic about Tutu’s honorary membership, who had never been to Enschede or probably heard of FC Twente. The club had not transferred the money a year later, also because of a fight within the board of the foundation about financial malpractice. Paul van der Kraan indicates on Sunday that it is not reasonable for FC Twente to send a delegation to Tutu’s funeral. “But a message of condolences is definitely headed that way.”

“That’s the least we can do. Whether the promised 50,000 was ever transferred to MKI, I do not know. That is long before my arrival at FC Twente. I’ll look into it,” said the director.