Football on Aruba has been shaped by myriad influences. Politically, the Caribbean island is a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, its old colonial masters. Dutch is spoken, but Spanish more widely due to large influxes of South American immigrants. Colombians seeking refuge from the1990s drug wars were followed by Venezuelans escaping their imploding economy, but the overwhelming influence comes from North America.
A century ago, the Lago Oil Refinery opened on Aruba’s southern tip and Americans flooded in. Now closed for over a decade, the refinery sits rusting on the outskirts of San Nicholas, Aruba’s second-largest city, but the US still wields significant power. Tourists, predominantly from the US east coast, flock to the pristine beaches and provide 80 per cent of the island’s income. The dollar is used as commonly as the Aruban Florin and baseball casts a long shadow over Aruban sport. Five Arubans have played Major League Baseball recently with Xander Bogaerts winning the World Series with the
