In an unusual sporting event, Ronnie Brunswijk, the 65-year-old former vice president of Suriname, took the field this Saturday to play for his own football club, Inter Moengotapoe. During a match against Politie Voetbal Vrienden in the third round of the Suriname Major League, Brunswijk scored a penalty goal, helping his team secure a 5-0 victory at the Franklin Essed stadium in Paramaribo.
Brunswijk entered the game during stoppage time while his team was already leading 4-0. According to reports from Goal, he may have even listed himself on the starting lineup. He successfully converted the penalty awarded to his side and celebrated with his hands raised, marking his first goal in the professional league established in 2024.
The former vice president, who served from 2020 to 2025, currently holds a position as vice president of the National Assembly. His career is marked by a controversial past as a rebel leader during Suriname's civil war and multiple convictions for cocaine trafficking. In 1999, he was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison in the Netherlands, later reduced to six years on appeal. Additionally, French courts sentenced him to ten years in prison in 2000. He has never served these sentences as Suriname does not extradite its citizens.
This is not Brunswijk's first foray into professional football at an advanced age. In September 2021, at the age of 60, he played alongside his son Damian in a CONCACAF League match against Honduran club CD Olimpia. Although his team lost 0-6, ESPN noted that he became the oldest player to participate in an international club competition. However, that appearance ended poorly; a video showing him distributing money in the opposing locker room triggered an investigation, leading to the exclusion of both clubs from the tournament and a three-year suspension for Brunswijk by CONCACAF.
Sources: Le Figaro.