Sense of family is really important: Robin Kelder's incredible 21-year journey back to Al Fateh | OneFootball

Robin Kelder has returned to Al Fateh to continue his fledgling professional career, 21 years after being born in Saudi Arabia, a journey framed by his mother Anita Maas’s memories. According to spl.com.sa, the Saudi-born Dutch player has signed in a move steeped in family history.

Maas lived in the Eastern Province on the Aramco compound in Dhahran, teaching at the American school. She chose to remain in the Kingdom and gave birth to Robin in March 2005, a decision whose significance only emerged years later.

The family moved back to the Netherlands when he was a toddler. There he fell for football, joined FC Groningen’s academy from age 11 to 18, and earned a first senior contract late last year, though a first-team debut did not follow.

Eligible for the Netherlands, Curacao, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, his birthplace is giving him the opportunity to play senior football.

He has no memory of those early years and does not speak the language, yet the move carries a sense of homecoming. His mother has been told he will be made to feel at home, and she values the club’s family feel, which reassures her he will settle.

As he starts this chapter, her advice is to embrace different ways of doing things, not only the Dutch approach, because that openness can enrich life. Saudi coach Khaled Al Atwi is the new Al Fateh manager, and Morocco defender Marwane Saadane has signed a new contract as Kelder prepares for his debut season.

Source: spl.com.sa

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”