Retiring kit woman honoured with giant tifo banner

Whittie started at the club as a volunteer 28 years ago Dutch top-flight club Go Ahead Eagles rolled out a giant tifo in tribute to their long-serving kit woman. Carla Whittie is retiring from Go Ahead Eagles after 28 years at the Eredivisie club and fans held up a giant banner of her face before their match against AZ Alkmaar. Before kick-off on Thursday, the 53-year-old received a certificate of appreciation on the pitch.

The game ended 0-0 but the tifo stole the show, reading: "Carla club icon. Thank you for everything! " The players also wore shirts with the message "Carla, thank you".

Whittie joined the club in July 1998, initially as a volunteer before her role quickly became a paid position. The tifo honoured the 53-year-old at Go Ahead Eagles' Eredivisie fixture "When I started at Go Ahead Eagles, I wasn't even allowed to enter the players' lounge," she told the club website in 2023. "In fact, I wasn't even in the team photo.

Kit people were never really a full part of the squad at the time. Nowadays it's different. "My experience was different in the early years.