Vice-President of Suriname, Ronnie Brunswijk has picked himself to play for the pro soccer team he owns in an elite match.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Vice President of the South American nation of Suriname, Ronnie Brunswijk on Tuesday picked himself to play for Inter Moengotapoe in one of the continent’s biggest soccer competitions.
Brunswijk, who is the club’s owner, laced up and took to the field as a striker as his team faced off against Olimpia in the CONCACAF League.
The sexagenarian also gave himself the captain’s armband for the first leg of the last 16 matches, which was played at the stadium which was named after him, Ronnie Brunswijkstadion.
However, things didn’t go as planned, as the politician lasted just 54 minutes before subbing himself off, at the point where the team was 3-0 down.
When the Vice President left the pitch, one of the commentators covering the game said: “Now we can say we’re 11 vs 11.”
His departure didn’t do all that much for Inter as they conceded three more goals before the final whistle to lose 6-0.
After the match, footage of Brunswijk entering the opposition dressing home and handing out wads of cash to Olimpia’s players surfaced.
Brunswijk became Suriname’s vice president in July 2020, having previously founded and led the rebel group Jungle Commando – which sought to free Suriname from military dictatorship – during the Surinamese Interior War in the late 1980s.
In 1999, the Dutch government accused him of cocaine trafficking and sentenced him in absentia to eight years in prison.
In 2005, Brunswijk was suspended by Suriname’s National Football Association after he threatened a player with a handgun on the pitch.
Earlier this year, a New York Times profile described him as “an elite paratrooper, a soccer player, a wanted bank robber, a guerrilla leader, a gold baron and a father to at least 50 children during his lifetime.”
Although Inter is expected to take on Olimpia at the second-leg of its CONCACAF League last-16 tie on September 29, Brunswijk is not expected to play.
