Curaçao's Renowned Sports Doctor Reveals 'Sweetest Secret' at World Cup: 'Carried Her Throughout the Tournament'

Suzanne Huurman, a sports professional with a background at (Young) PSV, Real Madrid Women, TeamNL at the Olympic Games, and FIFA, has revealed she was pregnant throughout the entire World Cup. She made the announcement in the tournament's final stages. Curaçao, where she was part of head coach Dick Advocaat's staff, had already been eliminated after group stage matches against Germany, Ecuador, and Ivory Coast. "We were already a party of two," she shared on Instagram.

"During the World Cup, everyone thought I was the only woman on the field. But they didn't know any better... I carried the extra strength of our little princess with me throughout the entire tournament. If you swipe all the way to the last photo... Let's just say keeping our little secret was starting to get a lot harder," she wrote. Huurman's Instagram post features a photo where a baby bump is visible under her Curaçao team kit. She stated she is now seventeen weeks pregnant and has gained seven kilograms.

Days before revealing her secret at the World Cup, she and her partner had already announced they were expecting their first child in December 2026. 'The sweetest secret is out. With hearts full of love and happiness, we are so excited to share that we are expecting a baby girl. There are moments that change life forever. The most beautiful gift of our lives is on its way,' Huurman and her Spanish partner, Manu Joya, posted on Instagram.

At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Huurman was notably responsible for managing injury concerns, including those surrounding top handball player Estavana Polman at the time. Polman, who has since retired, was among the first to congratulate Huurman and her partner on the pregnancy.