History
August 16, 1997 was the first of the so-called 'Artikel 140' soccer competitions. Article 140 of the Dutch book of criminal law is the conspiracy paragraph. It is the part of the law which makes it possible to arrest & prosecute all participants of a legal demonstration if only one participant (who may be a provocateur sent there by the cops) commits a crime.
In 1997 several groups of people which were active in different branches of the 'extra-governmental opposition' (like the squatters and ex-squatters of Vrankrijk (Amsterdam), Hotel Bosch (Arnhem), ACU (Utrecht), anti-militarists, mobile organic/vegan kitchen Rampenplan and many others) decided to organize a soccer competition of potential artikel 140 targets. This first competition unexpectedly generated a sum of money - which was donated to a support group for political refugees from countries like Iraq, Kurdistan and Somalia who were denied access to Europe.
Everybody enjoyed the idea to continue with this formula: a soccer competition by and for activists of different directions of the radical political spectrum, of which the proceeds are used to support a political project which everybody likes.
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Articles
* Artikel 140 Voetbaltoernooi 2003 in Wageningen
* Artikel 140 Voetbaltoernooi 2005 in Amsterdam
