Name: Joey Spijer
Age: 26
Team: Inter Aliyah B
Originally from: Antwerp, Belgium
Favourite Team: Arsenal
Position: Full Back
Football Idols: Thomas Vermaelen
Interesting Fact: Aside from his qualities on the football field, Joey is just as talented musically. He sings and plays the guitar, although we have yet to see this in action, we'll make sure he performs at the next social event...
'' I started playing football from a very young age, at the local Jewish club where I am from in Belgium, Maccabi Antwerp. We used to have training once or twice a week as well as a match too.
''It was never the most serious thing, it was more the idea of doing sports in a Jewish environment and having fun as a kid, but it was a big part of my childhood nonetheless.
Joey (top row, second from right) playing for Inter White in last season's IFLI Cup
''I transitioned from being an outfield player to being a keeper when I was around 10-years-old until the age of 14 and then went back to being an outfield player again.
''I moved to Israel a few years ago and started to study Business Administration at the IDC (Reichman University) in Herzliya, where I graduated from 3 years ago. I’ve also been working as a software engineer at the same company for the last 3 years. The company is called Agora and offers real estate investment management software.
Joey (far left) winning the weekly tournament
''Since moving to Israel, I started playing a lot of football again and heard about Inter Aliyah through a friend. He told me there were tryouts for an 11-a-side team in a league and that sounded amazing.
''I joined Inter White, which was a brand new team at the time and played there for two seasons. This year I have been selected to play for Inter Aliyah B, which I am extremely excited for.
''Inter Aliyah is quite unique. People from different places in the world coming to play football together. For people making Aliyah it can be tough to connect with locals only, and the club gives those people a place to have a great time with people that are in the same boat.
''Joey.''