Photographer Stanley Gontha at 300 international matches for the Netherlands

Thu Mar 28, 08:00

People

DIEMEN – Stanley Gontha was present for the three hundredth time on Friday as a professional photographer at an international match of the Dutch national team.

Stanley Gontha (62) has been a professional photographer for over thirty years. He has lived in Diemen for almost fifty years.

Gontha reached a milestone during the Netherlands-Scotland international match in the Johan Cruijff Arena. The three hundredth international match of the Dutch national team as a photographer is a record according to his own calculations. The counter now stands at 301, because on Tuesday he attended the Germany-Netherlands international match in Frankfurt.

His first international match as a photographer was the Netherlands-Wales on May 30, 1992 in the Nieuw-Galgenwaard stadium in Utrecht. It was a friendly match in preparation for the 1992 European Championships in Sweden. The Netherlands won 4-0. Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Jan Wouters and Danny Blind played in the Dutch national team at the time.

Gontha has had a passion for football since childhood. When he was 29 he started as a professional photographer. He photographs league matches every week, many European Cup matches and was present at eight World Cups and seven European Championships.

Stanley Gontha: “The profession has changed enormously over the years. In the early days I had to have the photos developed first. That took a while, so I mainly supplied to magazines. At that time, newspaper photographers developed their photos in the stadium and then sent them to the editors.”

With the advent of digital photography and the internet, everything moves much faster these days. “During the competition I send photos to a colleague who is at home and edits the photos. He then immediately sends the photos to the clients. I provide many photos that are posted online. I think the ratio between photos for newspapers and magazines and photos posted online is one in thirty.”

Working conditions for sports photographers have also changed, he indicates. “During the corona period, certain zones have been set up in stadiums where photographers are allowed. The clubs have maintained these measures after corona. We have fewer options now than in the past. For example, I can no longer stand right in front of the dugout before the start or after a match to photograph trainers and players.”

Stanley Gontha will be present at the European Championships in Germany next summer. “During the group stage I will be present at five matches, two of which involve the Dutch national team. I miss the Netherlands-France. I will be at a Gladys Knight concert in Carré. I drive back especially for that. After the group stage, I will play a match on every match day.”

He hopes to be present at the World Cup in 2026. This is held in no fewer than three countries: Mexico, the United States and Canada.