The Dutch club Widex GZC Donk, who won three of the first four editions of the women’s Euro League (1988, 1989, 1991), have signed two stars from the Netherlands national team, bringing them back to play in their domestic league after several years playing abroad.
Maartje Keuning and Brigitte Sleeking, both 24, have both enjoyed very successful spells across Europe.
Keuning, who was injured toward the end of last season, has won three Spanish championships with Sabadell, while Sleeking was an integral part of the Olympiacos team that won the quadruple (the Greek national championship, the Greek cup, the Euro League, and the LEN Supercup) last season.
Keuning enjoyed three full seasons at Sabadell, having previously played in the Netherlands for ZV De Zaan. Meanwhile, Sleeking, who won gold at the 2018 European Championships and bronze at the 2019 World Championships in Budapest, has returned to GZC Donk. She is formerly a player for MNC Dordrecht, ZVL-1886, and Spanish club CN Sant Andreu.
With these two additions, GZC Donk will keep the heat on Ede Polar Bears, who narrowly defeated ZV De Zaan for the championship last year.
The aforementioned pair of players aren’t the only ones going home. Also returning to the Dutch Eredivisie are players Debby Willemsz and Marit Van der Weijden, who both spent the previous season in Spain. The former, a Tokyo Olympian, was CE Mediterrani’s starting goalkeeper in the previous campaign, while the latter, a player who recently made her debut for the national team, developed well with Sant Andreu last campaign, scoring 37 goals in 18 games.
