Caitlin Johanna Philomena Dijkstra (born 30 January 1999) is a Dutch professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as defender for

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

club

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a G ...

and the Netherlands national team.

Club career

Dijkstra's father Meindert was a professional footballer. She grew up in

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda ...

as a supporter of NAC, but played for RKVV JEKA as NAC had no girls' section. She progressed to CTO Eindhoven, where she combined football with studies, before she signed for reigning national champions

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the ...

in 2018. She made her first team debut that October as a substitute in a daunting 2018–19 UEFA Women's Champions League tie with

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

. With Ajax she won the

KNVB Women's Cup The KNVB Women's Cup ( nl, KNVB Beker voor Vrouwen) is the cup competition for women's football in the Netherlands. The competition was established in 1980, along with the KNVB Amateur Cup. From the 2007-08 season onwards, the first round of ...

in her first season with the club. In April 2021 Dijkstra decided to leave Ajax for

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedes ...

upon the expiry of her contract that summer. Ajax's acquisition of

Stefanie van der Gragt Stefanie van der Gragt (; born 16 August 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defender for Inter Milan and the Netherlands national team. She has represented her country at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and 2019 FIFA Women ...

had reduced Dijkstra's opportunities to play in her favoured defensive role. At Twente Dijkstra signed for one year with the option of an additional year.

International career

At youth level Dijkstra played three times for the Netherlands women's national under-17 football team and 26 times for the Netherlands women's national under-19 football team. She played six times at under-20 level, including at the

2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since it ...

in France. She then served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the under-23 selection. In September 2021, national team

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Mark Parsons called up Dijkstra to the senior

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

squad for the first time. On 29 November 2021 she played the full match in a 0–0 friendly draw with Japan in The Hague to win her first official

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

. She scored her first goal on 19 February 2022 in a 3–0 victory against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dijkstra goal.''

References

External links

Living people Dutch women's footballers Eredivisie (women) players 1999 births FC Twente (women) players Netherlands women's international footballers AFC Ajax (women) players Footballers from Breda Women's association football defenders UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players {{Netherlands-women-footy-bio-stub