ℹ️ PERS. INFORMATION

⚽️ CLUB HISTORY

Club	Years
RKSV Blauw-Zwart	Youth
ADO Den Haag	Youth – 2018
RSC Anderlecht	2023
Excelsior Rotterdam	2023 – 2024
Glasgow City FC	2024 –

🎙️ INTERVIEW

Introduce yourself…

Hey I am Kimberley Smit you can call me Kim. I am from the Netherlands and play for Glasgow City.

You started your football journey at RKSV Blauw-Zwart in the Netherlands – what do you remember most about those early days, and what first drew you to football?

I was already involved in a lot of other sports like handball, judo, and tennis, but I also really wanted to play football. My mum thought it was just another phase, so she didn’t think too much of it. 

I looked it up myself and found out I could train with a boys’ team at Blauw-Zwart, and I was able to finish the season with them! I played with the boys until the U17s, and they always respected me.

Sometimes, I also played with the women’s team as a second game on the Saturday. I had a great time here and it was a great experience and it is a fantastic club!

How did your time in the ADO Den Haag youth academy help you develop technically and mentally as a player?

This was my first time in a more professional environment and my first time playing with girls instead of boys. I learned a lot there and made some amazing friends for life. It wasn’t easy to balance my last year of high school, my first year of college, and football training, but it helped me mature a lot as a player and as a person.

You spent time in the United States with the Memphis Tigers at the University of Memphis. What motivated your decision to combine studying and playing football abroad?

I’d always heard about going to the U.S. for football, but honestly, I never thought it was something that I would do. I’m a family person and love being home, so it never really crossed my mind. My English wasn’t great either, so it was definitely a challenge.

But in the end, going to America was one of the best experiences of my life. It was also one of the most challenging ones, but I learned so much during my time there, both on and off the pitch. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

After your time in the U.S., you joined RSC Anderlecht in Belgium in January 2023. What drew you to that move, and how was the transition back to European football?

After finishing college, I knew I wanted to play professionally. I’d already made my debut for ADO in the Eredivisie, but I wasn’t satisfied with this being the end of my journey, I knew there was more out there.

Playing for Anderlecht and competing in Belgium was an incredible experience. Winning the league was amazing, and the team made it so much easier to settle in. The girls were really welcoming, and that helped a lot with being away from home again.