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Dundee United star Jort van der Sande reveals Facebook’s role in international call from tiny Caribbean island

The Tangerines striker is a regular at international level.

Jort van der Sande is ready for the battle in Scotland
Jort van der Sande is relishing the early days on his stint at Tannadice. Image: Dundee United FC

For Jort van der Sande, it was a case of literally counting down the days to discover if he was eligible to play international football for Bonaire.

Dundee United’s Dutch striker spent part of his childhood on the tiny Caribbean island, which is a Netherlands municipality.

However, Van der Sande was unaware that he could play for Bonaire until an appearance on a podcast led to a fateful Facebook message.

Now, the 28-year-old is a fully-fledged international and started for Bonaire in a Concacaf Nations League game against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday, that ended 1-1, with another match with El Salvador on Monday.

Van der Sande said: “I was on a podcast three years ago and in the conversation, it turned to Bonaire.

Van der Sande applauds United fans after the Tangerines’ win over St Johnstone. Image SNS

“They were talking about my youth and asked if I was able to play for the national team.

“I said I didn’t think so because I wasn’t born there and my parents weren’t born there either.

“I thought that was the rule, I didn’t have a passport because it’s Dutch.

“But six months later, I got a message on Facebook.

“Someone over there was listening to the podcast and they said they’d done some research and they thought I could play.

“Because I went to school there and I lived there for five years, I could play. It turns out I lived there for five years exactly!

They were counting the days in the end because they saw it was 1998 to 2003 and the amount of days worked out perfectly.”

Jort van der Sande celebratesImage: Hans van der Valk/Orange Pictures/Shutterstock

Van der Sande admits those early years growing up on Bonaire established a lasting bond with the island for him.

He added: “My parents were teachers. I think they were looking for Dutch teachers who wanted to teach on Bonaire.

“My father saw an advertisement and he was like, I’m doing it.

“I was two years old when we moved there and I was seven when I left. But my first memories as a kid, they’re all there.

“I wasn’t born there but quite a big part of my youth was on the island. There’s a special bond.”

Bonaire may be idyllic for tourists but the sun and heat can pose problems for footballers.

Dundee United's Jort Van der Sande battles for another high ball
Van der Sande has been in the thick of things since joining United. Image: Russell Cheyne/Shutterstock

Van der Sande said: “It’s really steady between 29-31 degrees in winter and summer.

“When I’m there I’m not thinking this heat is really killing me but I have to be very careful with the sun. You don’t play while the sun is out!

“One time though they wanted to go to church to have a blessing for the team because they’re really religious and we trained afterwards.

“I think we went to the church at seven in the morning, we had training around 8.30 and it was already 29-30 degrees.

“Everyone was complaining and struggling saying it was crazy to be on the pitch at this time. Nine times out of 10 you just train after the sunset.”

Van der Sande added: “Is there an expectation on me when I play there? Yes.

“It’s kind of a village. It has around 20,000 residents, so everyone knows each other.

“I think before they selected me, there were already rumours that I could play for the island.

“It’s a different kind of pressure but there are big expectations.”

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