Joël van Kaam (born 8 March 2002) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for ACV Assen.

Career

Van Kaam started playing football in the youth ranks VV Appingedam before transitioning to the youth academy of

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

in 2013. On 12 July 2019, he signed his first professional contract with the club, committing to a two-year deal with an option for an additional year. Regularly featuring in the first team selection, he made his professional debut in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

on 8 November 2020, replacing Remco Balk in the 66th minute of a 2–0 away loss against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

. Just a week later, he earned his first start in the home game against Vitesse. On 31 August 2021, Van Kaam joined Emmen on loan for the 2021–22 season alongside fellow

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

-player Kian Slor. On 5 March 2024, Van Kaam was announced as ACV Assen's signing ahead of the 2024–25 season.

Personal life

Van Kaam was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and Brazilian mother. Van Kaam is the younger brother of Daniël van Kaam. When Joël made his professional debut for

, they joined a lineage of brothers who have played for the club's first team, which includes Erwin and

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Koeman scor ...

, and Dominique and Gregoor van Dijk.

Career statistics

Club

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaam, Joël van 2002 births Living people Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's youth international footballers Dutch people of Brazilian descent Men's association football fullbacks FC Groningen players FC Emmen players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Footballers from Groningen (province) People from Delfzijl 21st-century Dutch sportsmen