Suzanne Huurman is the only female team doctor at the World Cup, and she is still with Curaçao as the tournament moves through its group matches. The 36-year-old Dutch doctor has stayed on the staff since March, working through a coaching change and onto the bench for Curaçao’s World Cup debut.
Suzanne Huurman on Curaçao’s bench
She was on the bench against Germany on Sunday, when Curaçao made its historic World Cup debut, and she was back there for the second match against Ecuador. Her role goes beyond treatment; she advises on training load, recovery, and physical workload, the daily medical details that shape how a squad gets through a tournament week.
Huurman joined Curaçao under Fred Rutten and remained after Dick Advocaat returned as bondscoach. The players wanted her to stay, and that decision kept the same medical hand guiding the squad through the World Cup campaign.
FIFA meeting of team doctors
She only realized how rare her position was during a FIFA meeting for all team doctors. “Toen keek ik om me heen en zag ik inderdaad alleen maar mannen,” she said. “Ik ben niet anders gewend.”
That line fits the way she describes working in football: “Je moet heel duidelijk zijn. En je mannetje staan.” In a male-dominated staff environment, she says clarity is part of the job, not a special effort.
From Go Ahead Eagles to Real Madrid
Huurman’s path to the World Cup runs through Go Ahead Eagles and PSV, then Real Madrid. That background matters in practical terms for Curaçao, because it put an experienced club doctor on the staff before the team reached its biggest stage.
Her presence also gives Curaçao a visible place in a tournament where FIFA says no other woman holds the same team-doctor role. For a team already writing its own World Cup history, Huurman has become part of the story on the bench, not just behind the scenes.
