BELGIUM: VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene

Terrein Denderweg, Teralfene (VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene)

Belgium, province: Flemish Brabant = Vlaams Brabant

13 X 2024 / VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene - K Olympia SC Wijgmaal 4-1 / Brabant, VFV Provincial League 1 (= BE level 6)

Timeline

• 1956 / Foundation of a football club in Teralfene, which takes on the name Voetbalclub (VC) De Leeuwkens Teralfene. The club has a pitch situated at Kortenbos.
• 1957 / Possibly after one year of playing in a recreational football league, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene joins the official Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB), receiving registration number 6031 upon being accepted as new member club; and being placed in Brabant’s Provincial League 3H in its first season. Also in 1957, or possibly in 1958, the club abandons Terrein Kortenbos, settling at Terrein Denderweg, where it has been home ever since.
• 1959 / A second club is founded in Teralfene, Sporting Teralfene, which receives registration number 6223 upon being accepted as new member club of Belgium’s FA. The club is placed in Brabant’s Provincial League 3F, where it meets VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene. This club’s ground is situated at Kleine Heideweg, although it later moves slightly further down the road, to Okaaistraat.
• 1965 / Champions in Brabant’s Provincial League 3F, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene wins promotion to Provincial League 2 for the first time.
• 1967 / Champions in Provincial League 2C, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene accedes to Brabant’s Provincial League 1 for the first time.
• 1968 / Going from strength to strength, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene finishes as runners-up in its first season in Brabant’s Provincial League 1, winning direct promotion to National Division 4 along with champions Eendracht Hoeilaart.
• 1969 / In the best season in club history, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene finishes in thirteenth place in National Division 4A, thereby narrowly holding its own in the fourth and lowest division of the Belgian national league pyramid – finishing just 1 point ahead of the best of the three clubs to drop out of the league, KSV Blankenberge.
• 1970 / Finishing bottom of the table in National Division 4B, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene drops back into Provincial League 1 along with KFC Verbroedering Geel and FC Itegem.
• 1972 / Finishing bottom of the table in Brabant’s Provincial League 1, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene drops back into Provincial League 2.
• 1978 / Finishing in second-last place in Brabant’s Provincial League 2C, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene drops back into Provincial League 3, thirteen years after last having played at that level.
• 1982 / Champions in Brabant’s P3F, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
• 1983 / Champions in Brabant’s P2C, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene manages a return to Provincial League 1.
• 1986 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Brabant’s Provincial League 1, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene drops back into Provincial League 2 after three years.
• 1987 / After alternating spells in Provincial Leagues 3 and 2, Leeuwkens’ village rivals Sporting Teralfene change their name to become Sporting Affligem, settling as groundsharers with FC Eendracht Hekelgem at Terrein Haezenweg. 
• 1988 / Finishing in second-last place in Brabant’s P2C, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene descends into Provincial League 3.
• 1992 / Having played five more seasons in Brabant’s Provincial League 4, Sporting Affligem withdraws from the Belgian Football Association, continuing as a recreational club in the Roman-Catholic KAVVV (OV & VB) league, initially playing at Gemeentelijk Centrum Bellekouter, later moving to a groundshare with EMI Essene at Terrein Kerkplein. 
• 2002 / Champions in Brabant’s Provincial League 3F, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene wins promotion to Provincial League 2 after an absence of fourteen seasons.
• 2004 / Finishing second from bottom in Brabant’s P2C, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene descends back into Provincial League 3.
• 2006 / Runners-up in Brabant’s P3F, 7 points behind champions KFC Eppegem, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene wins automatic promotion to Provincial League 2.
• 2009 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Brabant’s P2C, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene drops back into Provincial League 3, along with RAS Saintoise and bottom club FC Eendracht Affligem.
• 2010 / The only pitch at Terrein Denderweg is equipped with a synthetic surface.
• 2011 / Runners-up in Brabant’s P3C, finishing 1 point behind champions FC Denderzonen Pamel, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club finishes in second place in a group of six, thus winning promotion to Provincial League 2 along with FC Saint-Michel and KVC Delta Londerzeel, at the expense of KFC Herent, RAS Jodoigne, and SK Kampelaar.
• 2018 / Runners-up in Brabant’s VFV P2B, 11 points behind champions KFC Rhodienne-De Hoek, VC De Leeuwkens misses out on promotion; no promotion play-offs are held, with only the best of the numbers two in Brabant’s VFV Provincial League 2 series, OHR Huldenberg in P2A (which picked up 11 points more than Leeuwkens) joining the two champions in Provincial League 1.
• 2023 / Youri Lapage, former player of RSC Anderlecht’s youth academy, SC Eendracht Aalst, FCV Dender EH, KRC Gent, KHO Wolvertem-Merchtem, VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene, and SK Denderhoutem – and incidentally also the grandson of former RSC Anderlechtois star and Belgian national player and coach Paul Van Himst – is named trainer-coach of VC De Leeuwkens in December 2023.
• 2024 / Finishing in fifth place in Brabant VFV’s P2A, VC De Leeuwkens qualifies for the play-offs. Managing successive victories over KFC Rhodienne-De Hoek (0-3), SK Nossegem (1-3), and KVC Houtem-Oplinter (2-1), the club wins a surprise promotion to Provincial League 1 – returning to that level after an absence of 38 years.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

NETHERLANDS: RKSV GOLTO (1927-1943?) / HGOVV (1927-1935) / RKVV Achilles '12 (1943-1951) / RKVV Achilles '12 (B) (1951-1956) / KSV Achilles '12 (B) (1956-1963) / KSV Achilles '12 (1963-)

Sportpark 't Wilbert, Hengelo (KSV Achilles '12, formerly RKSV GOLTO / HGOVV / A & B ground of RKVV Achilles '12 / B ground of KSV Achilles '12)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

12 X 2024 / KSV Achilles '12 - SV LONGA '30 1-0 / Combined Sunday & Saturday League 1G (= NL level 6)

Timeline

• 1865 / Jan van Alphen, alderman in Hengelo, has a villa constructed on an estate he had just purchased, Landgoed Het Wilbert. Predictably, the new villa is given the name Huize Het Wilbert.
• 1912 / Foundation of a first Roman Catholic football club in Hengelo (Overijssel), RKVV (Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging) Achilles – with Achilles being the name of a warrior from Greek mythology. Bernhard Nijhuis becomes the new club’s first chairman. The club’s plan to join the TVB (Twentsche Voetbalbond), the Twente sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, later KNVB) falls through, as federation authorities refuse to give the club a guarantee that matches will be played on Sundays after twelve noon (to avoid players not being able to attend the regular Sunday mass in the morning hours). Thereupon, the club sticks to playing friendly matches in the first years of its existence. RKVV Achilles’ first ground is situated at Pruisische Veldweg, a pitch used by several other clubs as well (and situated not far from the modern-day Fanny Blankers-Koenstadion). Incidentally, also in 1912, Landgoed Het Wilbert is acquired by a local industrialist, R.W.H. Hofstede-Crull, who invests a considerable sum to have the villa renovated. 
• 1916 / RKVV Achilles becomes a founding member of the so-called RKUVB or Roomsch-Katholieke Utrechtsche Voetbalbond, a Roman-Catholic football association uniting clubs from several provinces: Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel, Drenthe, Frisia, and Groningen (although, admittedly, there are hardly any member clubs from these last three provinces). One of eight teams from Twente to join the federation, RKVV Achilles is placed in the Twente District Division. That same year, moving away from Terrein Pruisische Veldweg, the club finds a pitch of its own at the crossroads of Deurningerstraat and Landsmanweg, on a plot of land owned by the Hermsboer farm. 
• 1917 / RKVV Achilles wins the title in the Twente District Division – losing its first match, at home against Victoria (Enschede), but going on to win ten of the remaining eleven matches, with one draw. Thereupon, the club takes part in a title competition against the winners of the other RKUVB divisions, of which only one result has been preserved – a 2-2 draw at Terrein Deurningerstraat against Utrecht side PVC (att. 1,200). From 1917 onwards, the RKUVB is part of the national Roman Catholic federation RKF (Roomsch-Katholieke Federatie), with league football being organised across the Netherlands. Also in 1917, to the dismay of Mr Hofstede-Crull, his estate and villa are bought up by Hengelo’s municipal authorities to build a new neighbourhood in the area. In a bout of rage, Hofstede-Crull decides to have Huize Het Wilbert demolished to its foundations.
• 1918 / After two years at Terrein Deurningerstraat, RKVV Achilles moves to a newly laid-out pitch opposite Café Pentrop – in fact, the same location occupied today by KSV BWO’s Sportpark De Noork.
• 1919 / RKVV Achilles wins its second title in RKUVB’s Twente District Division.
• 1920 / Having played on the pitch across from Café Pentrop for two years, RKVV Achilles now moves to the so-called Twentsch Stadion at Deurningerstraat – a sports facility which must have been demolished prior to World War II.
• 1922 / At the behest of RKUVB / RKF authorities – probably after the club won promotion to a higher division – RKVV Achilles changes its name due to several other clubs bearing the same name. Board member Beerntje Prinsen comes up with the creative idea of adopting the acronym ABON (‘Achilles Blijft Onze Naam’, i.e. Achilles Is Still Our Name).
• 1926 / After four years, ABON is allowed by RKF authorities to revert to its old name, RKVV Achilles.
• 1927 / Abandoning the Twentsch Stadion after seven years, RKVV Achilles now settles at Terrein Twekkelerweg, where it disposes of one sand pitch. At some point in the 1930s, Achilles is joined here by Protestant club SV Juliana ’32, but certainly not from 1932 onwards – and it is unclear for how long they had to share the facilities with this club. Also in 1927, a football pitch is laid out on top of R.W.H. Hofstede-Crull’s former villa, Huize het Wilbert, with the new Gemeentelijk Sportterrein ‘t Wilbert (one regular pitch, with a covered stand, and one gravel pitch for training sessions) being taken into use by two football clubs: RKSV GOLTO (Roomsch-Katholieke Sportvereeniging ‘Grondig Oefenen Leidt Tot Overwinnen’) and the newly founded HGOVV (Hengelosche Geheelonthoudersvoetbalvereeniging). GOLTO, founded in 1918, had won promotion to NVB League 3 in 1922.
• 1928 / The sand pitch at Terrein Twekkelerweg is laid out anew with a grass surface.
• 1929 / RKVV Achilles clinches the title in RKF'ss Eastern Division 1.
• 1933 / RKVV Achilles wins the title in RKF’s Eastern Division 1 for the second time.
• 1935 / After an existence of eight years, RKSV GOLTO’s groundsharers at Gemeentelijk Sportterrein ‘t Wilbert, HGOVV, cease all activities.
• 1936 / RKVV Achilles wins the title in RKUVB’s Twente District Division, with the decisive points being obtained in a 3-1 win over RKSV Rohda Raalte.
• 1940 / Having spent the first decades of its existence in Roman Catholic league associations RKUVB & RKF/IVCB (Interdiocesane Voetbalcompetitiebond), RKVV Achilles is now constrained to make the step to the official Netherlands’ FA (renamed NVB following the German oppression of the Netherlands, abandoning the royal epithet ‘koninklijk’ for obvious reasons) as all other football associations are abolished by German occupation authorities. The club is placed in District East’s Sunday League 2A for the 1940-41 season.
• 1941 / After fourteen years at Terrein Twekkelerweg, RKVV Achilles is forced out of its ground, as the pitch is commandeered by the German occupation forces. In the following years, the club has to play its home matches here and there, as it is left without a pitch of its own.
• 1943 / RKVV Achilles absorbs a smaller local club, BEG (Bijen en Garven), adapting its name to become RKVV Achilles ’12. That same year, the club rents Gemeentelijk Sportterrein ‘t Wilbert. It is unclear if this coincides with the departure of RKSV GOLTO from this pitch – GOLTO played its football at Stadion Veldwijk from 1949 onwards, groundsharing with HVV Tubantia, into which club it is absorbed in 1955. Achilles cannot make use of the facilities at ‘t Wilbert from 1943 onwards, though, as the ground has just been commandeered by the German occupation forces – with anti-aircraft fire and search lights being stationed on the pitch. It is not until after the war that the club can take its place at the park.
• 1950 / Wim Roetert, former player of DVV Go Ahead and the Netherlands’ national team (1 cap in 1923), is signed by RKVV Achilles ’12 as the club’s first-ever trainer-coach.
• 1951 / Due to the bad state of the pitch at Terrein ‘t Wilbert, RKVV Achilles ’12 has to move its first team football to Stadion Veldwijk, where it groundshares with HVV Tubantia and RKSV GOLTO.
• 1956 / At the request of church authorities, RKVV Achilles ’12 allows clubs for several other sports to form branches within the club, which thereupon adapts its name to become KSV (Katholieke Sportvereniging) Achilles ’12. Initially, apart from football, there are branches for table tennis, badminton, volleyball, and baseball – with the first and last-mentioned sport arts being discontinued at some point in the following three decades.
• 1957 / Having spent the first seventeen years after joining the regular Netherlands’ FA in Sunday League 2 – mostly managing mid-table finishes – KSV Achilles ’12 now finishes in last place in District East’s Sunday League 2A, thus descending into Sunday League 3 for the first time. Coach Herman Wienk had been replaced by Loek Fransen in the course of the season in an attempt to stop the rot, but to no avail.
• 1960 / KSV Achilles ’12 finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 3A, 3 points behind champions SV Vosta.
• 1962 / With the first stone for the construction being laid by the club’s spiritual advisor, chaplain A.W. Niesink, Achilles’ clubhouse at Sportpark ‘t Wilbert is inaugurated in December 1962.
• 1963 / After twelve years of having to play at Stadion Veldwijk, KSV Achilles ’12 moves its first team football back to Sportpark ‘t Wilbert. In the following two decades, the club has to make use of the Veldwijk facilities occasionally, as the increase of its membership does not allow all training sessions and matches to be held at ‘t Wilbert on all occasions.
• 1965 / Coached by Piet Huisken, KSV Achilles ’12 wins its first-ever title in the ranks of the KNVB, finishing in first place in District East’s Sunday League 3A, 2 points ahead of runners-up vv Oldenzaal. As such, the club manages a return to Sunday League 2 after an absence of eight seasons.
• 1967 / The clubhouse at Sportpark ‘t Wilbert, which had been erected only five years previously, is consumed in a fire in September 1967. The reconstruction works get underway soon after, with chaplain Booyink laying the first stone in November and the successor building being inaugurated on Boxing Day, 1967.
• 1970 / Coached by Hans Fransen, KSV Achilles ’12 finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 2B, thus dropping back into Sunday League 3 along with bottom club – and derby rivals – HVV Tubantia.
• 1971 / Coached by Gerrit Kerdijk, KSV Achilles ’12 clinches the title in District East’s Sunday League 3A, 2 points ahead of closest followers AVC Luctor et Emergo, with the club thus winning promotion to League 2.
• 1972 / Coached by Jan Lentink, KSV Achilles ’12 wins its second title in a row, finishing top of the table in District East’s Sunday League 2B, 10 points ahead of closest rivals SV Dinxperlo. The decisive points are clinched in an emphatic 6-0 home win against vv SDOUC. As such, the club accedes to Sunday League 1, the top division of the Netherlands’ non-league pyramid at the time.
• 1973 / In its first season in Sunday League 1D, KSV Achilles ’12 finishes as runners-up, 2 points behind champions GVV Eilermark.
• 1974 / Coached by Hans Fransen, KSV Achilles ’12 finishes in fifth place in Sunday League 1D, a result sufficient to be admitted to the newly created top tier of the Sunday pyramid, Zondag Hoofdklasse. Also in 1974, for the first time, the club receives FC Twente ’65 for a friendly at Sportpark ‘t Wilbert, won by the professional league side (0-2).
• 1975 / Achilles’ goalkeeper Bennie Nijhuis earns himself a professional league contract at AVC Vitesse, where he stayed for six seasons.
• 1977 / In the best season in club history, KSV Achilles ’12 finishes in third place in Zondag Hoofdklasse B. The team of trainer Jan Kemkens only had to acknowledge the supremacy of champions vv Rheden and runners-up vv (Hubert) Sneek.
• 1981 / Coached by Gerard Somer, KSV Achilles ’12 finishes in second-last place in Zondag Hoofdklasse B, resulting in the club being retrograded to Sunday League 1, along with bottom club vv Hattem.
• 1982 / A proposal to remove the reference to the KSV Achilles ‘12’s Roman Catholic origins from the club name (i.e. changing the name from KSV Achilles ’12 to SV Achilles ’12) is rejected by the club’s membership.
• 1983 / KSV Achilles ’12 holds FC Twente to a 2-2 draw in a friendly at Sportpark ‘t Wilbert, with André Bode and Simon van Benthem scoring Achilles’ goals.
• 1984 / 22-year-old Achilles ’12 utility player Gertjan Verbeek is signed by professional league side SC Heerenveen, with Verbeek going on to play with that club for nine years subdivided in two spells (1984-86, 1987-94), spending one season at SC Heracles ’74 in between (1986-87); Verbeek later went on to coach various professional league clubs in the Netherlands and Germany. Also in 1984, former Achilles youth academy defender Rudy Degenaar, who had joined Go Ahead Eagles two years previously, makes his debut as a professional league player at SC Heracles ’74. Degenaar stays with the club from Almelo for five years, tragically dying in the Surinam Airways Flight 764 crash near Zanderij Airport in Surinam. Degenaar was part of a team of Dutch footballers with a Surinamese background, the so-called ‘Colourful 11’, due to play some demonstration matches in the country of their forefathers. Degenaar was one of fourteen players who did not survive the crash, with only three of the squad surviving the disaster. 
• 1988 / Coached by Frans Leushuis, KSV Achilles ’12 finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 1D, resulting in the club suffering relegation to Sunday League 2, along with derby rivals HVV Tubantia.
• 1989 / Achilles’ player Bert-Jan Heins plays his 300th match for the club’s first team.
• 1990 / With a wooden predecessor being knocked down, a new set of dressing rooms is erected at Sportpark ‘t Wilbert. That same year, the main pitch of the park is equipped with floodlights.
• 1991 / KSV Achilles ’12 finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 2B, 3 points behind champions DOS ’19. In the play-offs, the club goes on to reach the final (incidentally, just like it had done in 1990), in which it ultimately misses out on promotion.
• 1992 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 2B, 6 points ahead of closest rivals SV Colmschate ’33, KSV Achilles ’12 manages a return to Sunday League 1. The decisive points are obtained in a 2-0 away win at ZAC in Zwolle. The successful coach is Gerrit Geerdink Johannink. Also in 1992, KSV Achilles ’12 ceases to be an omnisports club, with the badminton and volleyball branches continuing their existence as separate entities.
• 1995 / Coached by Freek van Oenen, KSV Achilles ’12 clinches the title in Sunday League 1D, 3 points ahead of runners-up SV Hatert, thus returning to Zondag Hoofdklasse after an absence of fourteen years.
• 1996 / Still coached by Freek van Oenen, KSV Achilles ’12 is unable to cope with the Hoofdklasse level, ultimately finishing in twelfth place in Zondag Hoofdklasse B and dropping back into Sunday League 1 along with RKSV Rohda Raalte and bottom club CVV Germanicus. In the following years, the club establishes itself as a regular feature at the League 1 level.
• 2002 / Former professional league player Michel Boerebach – between 1983 and 1998, he played for Go Ahead Eagles, Roda JC, PSV, Burgos CF, and FC Twente – joins KSV Achilles ’12 as head coach of the first team, staying on in that capacity for two seasons until joining Go Ahead Eagles as an assistant manager. Also in 2002, on the occasion of the club’s 90th anniversary, KSV Achilles ’12 plays host to AFC Ajax in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark ‘t Wilbert, losing the encounter (att. 2,200) emphatically, 0-11; a repeat of the match the year after leads to a slightly more honourable result (0-9).
• 2003 / KSV Achilles ’12 reaches the final of District East’s Regional Cup (Districtsbeker), suffering defeat in the final at Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Strokel in Harderwijk against VVOG (4-2).
• 2005 / Former Achilles ’12 youth player Marcel Kleizen, who had joined FC Twente’s youth academy in 2003, makes his debut in FC Twente’s first team. Kleizen goes on to have a short professional league career, also defending the colours of FC Zwolle and FC Emmen until hanging up his boots in 2009.
• 2006 / After nearly two decades of paying fees to their players, KSV Achilles’ board takes the decision to put an end to this practice.
• 2007 / Coached by Geert Veldhuis, KSV Achilles ’12 finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 1E, thus descending into Sunday League 2 along with vv SDOUC and SV OBW. 
• 2010 / Runners-up in Sunday League 2J, 11 points behind champions PH, KSV Achilles ’12 and its coach Otto Krabbe win automatic promotion to Zondag Hoofdklasse due to extra promotion places being available following the introduction of a Zondag Topklasse as the new top division of the Sunday non-league pyramid.
• 2011 / Finishing in ninth place in Sunday League 1E, KSV Achilles ’12 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, defeating vv Dalen in R1 (7-5 aggr.), but slumping to defeat against vv Sneek Wit Zwart in R2 (5-2 aggr.). Due to professional league side RBC Roosendaal going bankrupt, however, an extra promotion place to the Hoofdklasse level is available, with a lucky loser play-off being held for that one spot. Defeating near-namesakes Achilles 1894 in R1 (2-3), KSV Achilles ’12 eventually stumbles over the last hurdle in the final, played at Sportcentrum KNVB in Zeist, against VPV Purmersteijn (0-2). 
• 2014 / Coached by Remco Hammink, KSV Achilles ’12 finishes in twelfth place in Sunday League 1E, thus dropping back into Sunday League 2 along with SV Babberich and bottom club vv DVV.
• 2016 / Jeffrey de Visscher, former professional league player at FC Twente, BVO Emmen, Heracles Almelo, BV De Graafschap, Aberdeen FC, SC Cambuur, and FC Emmen, is signed by KSV Achilles ’12 as the club’s new trainer – staying on in that capacity for five seasons.
• 2017 / The main pitch of Sportpark ‘t Wilbert is equipped with a synthetic surface. During the works, the foundations of Huize Het Wilbert are unearthed – only to be covered in a layer of concrete, which serves as the basis of the new 3G pitch.
• 2019 / Finishing as runners-up in Sunday League 2J, with an equal number of points as champions SV Voorwaarts, but with an inferior goal difference (+38 vs. + 33), KSV Achilles ’12 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, knocking out vv Union in R1 (7-2), but being eliminated in R1 by RKSV De Zweef (1-3).
• 2022 / Coached by Freek van Oenen, KSV Achilles ’12 finishes in third place in Sunday League 2J, qualifying for the play-offs, in which the club successively has the better of SV BVC ’12 (result unknown), SV Bon Boys (0-2), and vv Union (0-5). As a result, KSV Achilles ’12 wins promotion to Sunday League 1 – but, making use of the opportunity offered for the first time by the Netherlands’ FA to swap from one pyramid to the other without being retrograded to the lowest level, the club chooses to be placed in Saturday League 1 for the new season – thereby ending a tradition of 110 years of Sunday football. From the 2023-24 season onwards, however, the Netherlands’ FA chose to mix Sunday and Saturday clubs in League 1, with KSV Achilles ’12 continuing to play its first team home matches on Saturdays.
• 2024 / 35-year-old defender Sjoerd Overgoor, a former professional league player at BV De Graafschap, Go Ahead Eagles, SC Cambuur, Szombathelyi Haladás, and TOP Oss (2009-21), joins KSV Achilles ’12.

Note 1 – Much of the information above has been derived from a book released on the occasion of KSV Achilles ‘12’s 100th anniversary in 2012: “Witte broek en rode trui… 100 jaar KSV Achilles ’12 (1912-2012)”, by Ben van Benthem / Ton Krabbe / Marco Krijnsen / Paul Nieuwenhuis / Margriet Postma / Rob Sanders / Gerard Smink (ed. Achilles ’12: 2012). Thanks to KSV Achilles ‘12’s board for putting a copy of this book at my disposal.

Note 2 – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-4 & 15 = non-matchday visit, December 2022 / pictures 5-14 = match visit, October 2024.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

NETHERLANDS: RKSV Mierlo-Hout

Sportpark De Beemd (Oost), Helmond Mierlo-Hout (RKSV Mierlo-Hout)

Netherlands, province: North Brabant = Noord-Brabant

6 X 2024 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout - MASV 2-1 / National Division 4C (= NL level 5)

Timeline

• 1919 / Foundation of a football club in the hamlet of Mierlo-Hout by a group of local youths, with Marinus Ketelaars and Tidder van der Burgt being the driving forces. The new club is given the name Concordia, with Piet Wasser taking on the role of chairman. Choosing not to join any league association yet, Concordia sticks to playing friendly matches against teams from surrounding villages, initially on a projected construction site, moving to a pitch laid out on a plot of land owned by Mierlo-Hout’s housing association in April 1919, then in August of the same year to Terrein De Houtse Barrier, and in October on to a plot of farmland owned by a local smallholder, J. Klomp, alongside the Eindhovensch Kanaal in Mierlo-Heide.
• 1920 / Joining the Helmond branch of Roman-Catholic league association RKF (Roomsch-Katholieke Federatie), Concordia is placed in Division B.
• 1922 / Abandoning Terrein Klomp after two years, Concordia settles on a pitch laid out on a plot of land near the windmill owned by Mr Van Stekelenburg along the exit road to Mierlo.
• 1924 / In 1924 – although other sources mention the year 1922 – Concordia changes its name to become RKSV (Roomsch-Katholieke Sportvereeniging) Mierlo-Hout, probably after the club won promotion to the RKF national divisions; and with the name Concordia already having been taken by another RKF national league club.
• 1927 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout reaches the semifinal of the RKF’s cup competition, the Episcopal Cup (Bisschopsbeker), in which the club is eliminated by SV Vitesse ’08 (Gennep).
• 1928 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout conquers the Episcopal Cup, defeating Victoria ’25 (Afferden) in the final, played in Tilburg (3-2).
• 1931 / Having been home at Terrein Van Stekelenburg for nine years, RKSV Mierlo-Hout now moves to Terrein Helmondsche Weg, formerly owned by rival RKF club De Roodborstjes, which folded earlier that same year.
• 1937 / After a spell of six years at Terrein Helmonds(ch)e Weg, RKSV Mierlo-Hout now moves to Terrein Noord-Parallelweg, a plot of land owned by Mr Van Houtum.
• 1940 / Having spent nearly two decades in the ranks of the Roman-Catholic league association RKF, RKSV Mierlo-Hout is now constrained to make the step to the official Netherlands’ FA (KNVB, renamed NVB following the German oppression of the Netherlands, abandoning the royal epithet ‘koninklijk’ for obvious reasons) as all other football associations are abolished by German occupation authorities. For the 1940-41 season, the club is placed in the ranks of the so-called Noord-Brabantse Voetbalbond (NBVB), the association organising football in the Province of North Brabant below the level of KNVB (Sunday) League 4. Also in or around 1940, abandoning Terrein Noord-Parallelweg, RKSV Mierlo-Hout settles at the so-called Jonge Wacht-veld, named after the local Roman Catholic youth movement which disposed of a football pitch at the back of its clubhouse at Slegersstraat.
• 1943 / Due to the Jonge Wacht-veld being taken in use as farmland, RKSV Mierlo-Hout ceases its activities for the remainder of World War II.
• 1946 / After three years of inactivity, RKSV Mierlo-Hout resettles at the Jonge Wacht-veld, Slegersstraat. 
• 1950 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout wins the title in NBVB (Sunday) Division 1, failing to win promotion to Sunday League 4 in the promotion play-offs.
• 1951 / Floodlights are added to the set-up at the Jonge Wacht-veld.
• 1952 / Clinching the title in NBVB Division 1, RKSV Mierlo-Hout succeeds in acceding to Sunday League 4 for the first time following a successful round of promotion play-offs. As it turns out, the pitch at Slegersstraat not having the correct dimensions for football in the KNVB leagues, but thanks to the local priest, Fr Van de Spijker, giving up 1,5 metres of land of his rectory gardens, the club does not have to move to a new location.  
• 1955 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes as joint runners-up with BVV Dorplein in District South I’s Sunday League 4A, 3 points behind champions RPC.
• 1956 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes as runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 4C, just 1 point behind champions vv Woenselse Boys.
• 1960 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes as runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 4C, 8 points behind champions vv Budelschoot.
• 1962 / After some two decades at the Jonge Wacht-veld, Slegersstraat, RKSV Mierlo-Hout now moves into the newly laid-out Sportpark De Beemd, where the club is still playing today – although the park has undergone several extensions over the years. 
• 1965 / Finishing in joint last place in District South I’s Sunday League 4C with RKVV Milheezer Boys, RKSV Mierlo-Hout meets that club in a relegation tie-breaker, suffering defeat in that match and thus dropping back into the ranks of the NBVB after a spell of thirteen seasons in League 4.
• 1968 / The hamlet of Mierlo-Hout is incorporated into the municipality of Helmond – with the village being completely surrounded by that town’s urban sprawl in the course of the following decades.
• 1971 / Having spent six seasons in the NBVB, RKSV Mierlo-Hout manages a return to Sunday League 4.
• 1972 / Champions in District South I’s Sunday League 4C, 2 points ahead of closest followers vv Boskant, RKSV Mierlo-Hout manages its second promotion in a row, acceding to Sunday League 3 for the first time.
• 1977 / Finishing in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 3A, RKSV Mierlo-Hout drops back into League 4 after five years, along with bottom club RKSV Heeze.
• 1978 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes as runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 4C, 2 points behind champions vv Boskant.
• 1979 / The main pitch of Sportpark De Beemd is adorned with a covered stand, paid for by a group of supporters. The stand is placed in between the main pitch (current central pitch of Sportpark De Beemd) and the westernmost pitch of the park.
• 1980 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South I’s Sunday League 4C, RKSV Mierlo-Hout drops back into the ranks of the NBVB.
• 1986 / Having spent six seasons in the ranks of the NBVB, RKSV Mierlo-Hout now manages a return to Sunday League 4.
• 1990 / Champions in District South I’s Sunday League 4C, 6 points ahead of closest rivals HVV Helmond and RKVV Gestelse Boys, RKSV Mierlo-Hout wins promotion to Sunday League 3.
• 1994 / Finishing in third place in District South I’s Sunday League 3B, RKSV Mierlo-Hout wins promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first time in club history following a successful round of promotion play-offs. In the following season, the club manages a respectable third place in District South I’s Sunday League 2A. In May 1994, on the occasion of the club’s 75th anniversary, RKSV Mierlo-Hout invites PSV to Sportpark De Beemd for a gala match (1-5).
• 1996 / Finishing in tenth place in District South I’s Sunday League 2A, RKSV Mierlo-Hout fails to extend its stay at this level in the relegation play-offs, thus dropping back into League 3 along with SV OSS ’20 and bottom club vv Nieuw Woensel.
• 1997 / Finishing in tenth place in District South I’s Sunday League 3D, RKSV Mierlo-Hout yet again fails to deliver in the relegation play-offs, thus suffering its second relegation in a row, dropping back into League 4 along with NWC, SV Valkenswaard, and bottom club ZSV.
• 1998 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes as runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 4H, 4 points behind champions vv Dijkse Boys.
• 1999 / Former RKSV Mierlo-Hout youth academy defender Ruud Verhappen makes his debut as a professional league player with VVV. After a spell of four years in Venlo, Verhappen bows out into non-league, defending the colours of RKSV Schijndel, SV Venray, and vv Geldrop.
• 2000 / Coached by Frank van de Vijfeijken, RKSV Mierlo-Hout clinches the title in District South I’s Sunday League 4H, 8 points ahead of runners-up NWC, thus managing a return to Sunday League 3.
• 2001 / Coached by Frank van de Vijfeijken, RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes in ninth place in District South I’s Sunday League 3D, being unable to retain its status as League 3 club in the relegation play-offs and thus dropping back into League 4 along with vv Nooit Gedacht, RKVV Den Dungen, and bottom club RKSV MULO.
• 2003 / Finishing in joint first position in District South II’s Sunday League 3D with vv Dijkse Boys, RKSV Mierlo-Hout goes on to meet its town rivals in a tie-break match for the title, suffering a 2-1 defeat in that encounter and missing out on promotion in the subsequent round of play-offs as well.
• 2004 / Still coached by Frank van de Vijfeijken, RKSV Mierlo-Hout clinches the title in District South II’s Sunday League 3D, 1 point ahead of RKSV Rhode, thus managing a return to Sunday League 2 after an absence of eight years.
• 2005 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 2H, 9 points behind champions SV Venray.
• 2006 / Coached by Angelo van den Heuvel, RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 2H, thus dropping back into League 3 along with bottom club RKSV De Ster.
• 2009 / On the occasion of the club’s 90th birthday, RKSV Mierlo-Hout organises a gala match at Sportpark De Beemd against PSV (0-10). That same summer, the pitches to the north and the east of the clubhouse at the park are equipped with a synthetic surface. First team football is moved to the northernmost pitch.
• 2011 / Coached by Ton van Dijk, RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes in third place in District South II’s Sunday League 3D, just 2 points behind champions vv Heeswijk. Qualifying for the play-offs, the club goes on to knock out ZSV (5-3 aggr.) and SV Vitesse ’08 (6-5 aggr.) successively, thus winning promotion to Sunday League 2. Also in 2011, after two seasons of playing first team football on the northernmost pitch of Sportpark De Beemd, first team football is moved to the 3G pitch on the eastern side of the park – the reason behind this being that there turned out to be no space to move the covered stand from the former main pitch of the park to the northernmost pitch. In the summer of 2011, the stand is rebuilt alongside easternmost pitch of the park, which has been the main pitch ever since.
• 2013 / Still coached by Ton van Dijk, RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes in twelfth place in Sunday League 2H, with the club having to retain its status as League 2 club in a set of promotion-relegation play-offs. Knocking out RKSV Rhode in R1 (4-2 aggr.), the club is eliminated by EVVC in R2 (5-3 aggr.). In a lucky loser play-off, organised due to extra places in League 2 being available, the club suffers defeat against IVO (0-1). As such, RKSV Mierlo-Hout drops back into League 3 after two seasons.
• 2015 / Coached by Cees Eekels, RKSV Mierlo-Hout wins the title in District South II’s Sunday League 3C, 6 points ahead of closest followers RKSV Blerick, thus managing a return to Sunday League 2.
• 2017 / Still coached by Cees Eekels, RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes in eleventh place in Sunday League 2H, having to retain its status as a League 2 club in a set of promotion-relegation play-offs. Knocking out vv Excellent in R1 (4-2 aggr.), the club suffers defeat in the final against Sparta ’18 (4-3 aggr.). As such, RKSV Mierlo-Hout drops back into League 3 along with SC Oranje-Zwart Helmond, IVO, and bottom club SC Helmondia.
• 2018 / Coached by former SC Eindhoven and Helmond Sport professional player Raymond Koenraadt, RKSV Mierlo-Hout wins the title in District South II’s Sunday League 3C, a staggering 17 points ahead of closest rivals SV Budel. As such, the club manages an immediate return to Sunday League 2.
• 2019 / RKSV Mierlo-Hout celebrates its 100th anniversary with a gala match at Sportpark De Beemd against Helmond Sport (1-4).
• 2022 / Runners-up in Sunday League 2H, 8 points behind champions SV Marvilde, RKSV Mierlo-Hout qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RKSV Bekkerveld (1-4).
• 2023 / Still coached by Raymond Koenraadt, RKSV Mierlo-Hout finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 2E, 3 points behind champions SV Valkenswaard. In the promotion play-offs, the club manages to knock out four clubs successively: vv Uno Animo (3-1), SV Marvilde (0-3), RKSV Antibarbari (2-2 & penalty shoot-out), and lastly JVC (Julianadorp, 4-5). As such, RKSV Mierlo-Hout accedes to Sunday League 1 for the first time in club history.
• 2024 / Champions in its first season in Sunday League 1F, 2 points ahead of runners-up SV Valkenswaard, RKSV Mierlo-Hout, still coached by Raymond Koenraadt, manages a historic promotion to National Division 4, the fifth and lowest tier of the Netherlands’ national league pyramid.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

NETHERLANDS: vv Kolping Boys

Sportpark De Nollen, Alkmaar Oudorp (vv Kolping Boys)

Netherlands, province: North Holland = Noord-Holland

5 X 2024 / vv Kolping Boys - HSV ODIN '59 2-2 / National Division 4A (= NL level 5)

Timeline

• 1921 / A Roman Catholic football club is founded in the village of Oudorp, just to the north of Alkmaar, with the club being given the name SDW (Sterk Door Wilskracht). The idea to form a football club was given to the local youths by the local branch of the Kolping Society (or Sint-Jozefgezellenvereeniging in Dutch), a society promoting the foundation of leisure clubs for the Roman Catholic youth. The Kolping Society, named after German diocesan priest Adolph Kolping (1813-1865) is mainly active in Germany, but has branches in other countries in Europe and America as well. As founding members of SDW, a group of five youths is mentioned: Frans Hes, A. Verduin, Jaap Wester, A. Oud, and Klaas Wester. The new club, which joins the Roman Catholic league association DHVB (Diocesaan Haarlemsche Voetbalbond) instead of the official Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, later KNVB). SDW’s first pitch is situated on a plot of farmland owned by a local smallholder, Mr S. Dekker, in nearby Sint Pancras, at the crossroads of Bovenweg and modern-day Meeuwenlaan.
• ± 1922 / Abandoning Terrein S. Dekker in Sint Pancras, SDW settles at Terrein Bleekerslaantje, a sand pitch situated at modern-day Achterwegpad, halfway between Oudorp and Sint Pancras.
• 1923 / Having played in the ranks of the Roman Catholic football association DHVB for two years, SDW now switches to the official Netherlands’ Football Association, probably due to the long trips to away matches which had to be covered in the DHVB divisions. The club is placed in the so-called NHVB (Noord-Hollandsche Voetbalbond), the association organising league football in North Holland below the level of NVB League 3 (later League 4). Due to an Amsterdam member club of the same league association bearing the same name, SDW is referred to within the NHVB simply as ‘Oudorp’, although the club never officially changes its name.
• 1924 / Having played at Terrein Bleekerslaantje for some two years, SDW now settles on a pitch laid out on a plot of farmland across from Café J. Beers at Bovenweg in Sint Pancras.
• 1925 / SDW wins a NHVB league title, ahead of runners-up BSV (Bergen). It is unclear in which division the club played at that point.
• 1926 / SDW wins a second NHVB league title, ahead of runners-up GSV (Grootschermer). It is unclear in which division the club played at that point.
• 1930 / After an existence of nine years, SDW folds, ceasing all activities due to financial difficulties. At that point, the club had already ceased to take part in the NHVB leagues for the same reason.
• 1931 / At the instigation of chaplain Westerkamp of the local Kolping Society, a new football club is founded in Oudorp, which is given the name VVO (Voetbalvereeniging Oudorp). The last acting chairman of the former SDW, Nic Wortel, takes on that same role within the new club, which joins the Roman Catholic league association DHVB. VVO initially settles on a pitch laid out at Herenweg on a plot of land owned by a local smallholder, Mr Vethaak. However, due to Vethaak, who adhered to the Protestant faith, frowning upon sporting activities taking place on his land on Sundays, he renounces the leasing agreement with the club after a couple of matches only. Thereupon, VVO moves to a plot of farmland situated at the back of the local Roman Catholic primary school, belonging to the local St Lawrence Parish (Sint-Laurentiusparochie).
• 1932 / Foundation of a second football club in Oudorp, a club not affiliated to any church, Sparta. A pitch is laid out for this club at Roerdompstraat.
• 1933 / One year after its foundation, Sparta joins the NHVB, being accepted under a new name, vv Oudorp – a decision brought about by NVB authorities, given that the name Sparta had already been taken by various other clubs. Also in 1933, a third football club sees the daylight in Oudorp, yet again a club without an affiliation to a church, ASV – probably an acronym of Algemeene Sportvereeniging (‘algemeen’ meaning ‘general’, i.e. non-affiliated). While the Roman Catholic VVO had joined the DHVB league association two years previously, ASV successfully applied for membership of the KNVB sub-branch in North-Holland, the NHVB. The club settles on a pitch laid out at Ooievaarstraat, right next to vv Oudorp’s Terrein Roerdompstraat.
• 1935 / VVO wins a DHVB league title, clinching the decisive points in a 4-3 home win against S Geel-Zwart ’30. The club goes on to win all promotion matches, the last being an emphatic 0-6 rout away at SEW in Nibbixwoud. However, following the 1934-35 season, VVO ceases all activities, probably due to financial difficulties. Also in 1935, one of the other club in Oudorp, ASV, changes its name to become MEVO (an acronym, probably standing for Moed En Volharding Overwint).
• 1936 / After a pause of one season, VVO resumes its activities, with the pitch at the back of the local Catholic primary school remaining in use. Also in 1936, MEVO wins the title in NHVB (Sunday) Division 3.
• 1937 / vv Oudorp wins the title in NHVB Division 2, with village rivals MEVO finishing as runners-up. Also in 1937, after an existence of six years, VVO folds, ceasing all activities.
• 1939 / Two years after the demise of VVO, a new, third successive Roman Catholic football club is founded in Oudorp, with the Kolping Society once again being the driving force – and this time, the club is named after Adolph Kolping himself: vv Kolping Boys. Andries Metselaar is the new club’s first chairman. The club settles on the pitch previously used by VVO at the back of the local Catholic primary school. Like its predecessor, vv Kolping Boys joins the Roman-Catholic football association DHVB. On the other hand, one of the two other clubs in Oudorp, MEVO, folds, ceasing all activities, with the mobilisation of the Netherlands’ armed forces in the summer of 1939 being behind this decision – given that a considerable part of MEVO’s membership is called up to serve the country in view of the looming German threat. 
• 1940 / Having spent the first year of its existence in the DHVB, vv Kolping Boys is now constrained to make the step to the official Netherlands’ FA (renamed NVB following the German oppression of the Netherlands, abandoning the royal epithet ‘koninklijk’ for obvious reasons) as all other football associations are abolished by German occupation authorities. In the 1940-41 season, the club is integrated into a special division created for Roman-Catholic clubs (‘Divisie Bijzonder’, literally translated: ‘Special Division’) – only to be absorbed into the regular NHVB divisions from 1941 onwards.
• 1944 / Coached by Evert de Jager, vv Kolping Boys wins its first title in NHVB Division 2E, 1 point ahead of RKVV Limmen Reserves – in fact, this was a competition with a limited amount of clubs, as regular league football was interrupted more and more often due to clubs ceasing activities, with the main reason being that matches were the ideal opportunity for German occupation authorities to find involuntary recruits for the dreaded Arbeitseinsatz, i.e. forced labour in Germany.
• 1945 / Having led a relatively undisturbed existence in the 1940s, vv Oudorp now changes its name to become vv De Randers – named after a dike, Randersdijk. Possibly, the name change was brought about following a conflict with Oudorp’s municipal authorities, but no information is available on the matter. Meanwhile, vv Kolping Boys resumes its activities, being placed in NHVB Sunday Division 2.
• 1946 / Clinching the title in NHVB (Sunday) Division 1, vv De Randers accedes to KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time.
• 1947 / Abandoning Terrein Roerdompstraat, vv De Randers moves to a new pitch only several dozens of yards away, on a plot of land previously occupied (partly) by MEVO’s Terrein Ooievaarstraat.
• 1949 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4A, 2 points ahead of vv Zeevogels, vv De Randers qualifies for the promotion play-offs – going on to suffer a 3-2 defeat against vv Succes in a match played at Gemeentelijk Sportpark Alkmaar. As such, the club misses out on promotion to Sunday League 3. Meanwhile, vv Kolping Boys fares less successfully, finishing in joint last place in NHVB Sunday Division 2 along with vv Callantsoog – going on to suffer defeat (2-1) against that club in a tie-break match, played at BSV’s ground in Bergen, with the result being relegation to NHVB Division 3.
• 1950 / vv Kolping Boys finishes as runners-up in NHVB Sunday Division 3 behind vv Zeevogels Reserves.
• 1951 / Finishing in joint first place in NHVB Sunday Division 3F with vv Con Zelo, vv Kolping Boys goes on to defeat that club in a tie-break match, played at SVW '27’s Terrein Sportlaan (2-1). As such, vv Kolping Boys manages a return to NHVB Sunday Division 2 after an absence of two seasons.
• 1953 / Finishing rock bottom in District West I’s Sunday League 4A, vv De Randers drops back into the ranks of the NHVB after seven seasons.
• 1954 / Finishing rock bottom in NHVB Sunday Division 1C, vv De Randers suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into NHVB Division 2. With insulting turning to injury, the club’s pitch at Ooievaarstraat is no longer deemed fit for football by KNVB officials, leading to the club having to move to a groundshare with SV Vrone at Terrein Boeterslaan.
• 1955 / Coached by Gerrit Hartland, vv Kolping Boys wins the title in NHVB Sunday Division 2C, 4 points ahead of closest followers SV De Foresters – and without suffering a single defeat all season – thus winning promotion to NHVB Division 1. Meanwhile, vv De Randers suffers its third relegation in a row, slipping down into NHVB’s bottom division, Division 3. Following the 1954-55 season, however, vv De Randers folds, ceasing all activities. From then on, vv Kolping Boys has remained the only football club in Oudorp. The former pitch of vv De Randers at Ooievaarstraat is taken over initially by a dog agility club, only to be turned into a skating track later onwards – eventually falling victim to the construction of a new neighbourhood (the pitch was situated on the spot of modern-day Reigerstraat).
• 1958 / vv Kolping Boys finishes as runners-up in NHVB Sunday Division 1B, 2 points behind champions vv DWB.
• 1959 / With vv Kolping Boys’ pitch at the back of the Catholic primary school in Oudorp no longer deemed fit for football by KNVB authorities, with the club being left with no other option but to conclude a groundsharing agreement with SV Vrone at Terrein Boeterslaan in Sint Pancras.
• 1961 / Coached by Joop Dingena, a former professional league player with Alkmaar ’54, vv Kolping Boys clinches the title in NHVB Sunday Division 1B, 1 point ahead of runners-up SV Westfriezen, thus winning promotion to KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time. The decisive points are obtained in a 3-0 home victory over SV Spartanen. Also in 1961, after two years of groundsharing at SV Vrone’s Terrein Boeterslaan, vv Kolping Boys settles at two pitches laid out for the club by Oudorp’s municipal authorities at Herenweg – in fact the same location where VVO had spent the first weeks of its short existence in 1931. The inauguration ceremony is performed by Oudorp’s mayor J.H. Kok, while the new pitches are blessed by the club’s spiritual advisor, Chaplain H.J.G. Spruyt.
• 1963 / Coached by Jaap Kunst, vv Kolping Boys finishes in joint first place in District West I’s Sunday League 4B with vv Monnickendam – going on to meet that club in a tie-break match for the title, played at SV Always Forward’s ground in Hoorn, with the encounter finishing in a 1-1 draw (att. 2,500). A second match, played on the same location, is won convincingly by Kolping Boys, 3-0. As such, the club accedes to Sunday League 3 for the first time.
• 1965 / Coached by Gerrit de Heer, vv Kolping Boys finishes bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3A, dropping back into League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv West Frisia. The decisive blow was dealt to the club by vv VIOS-W (0-2).
• 1968 / Coached by Theo Brouwer, vv Kolping Boys finishes bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4B, thus descending into the ranks of the NHVB after seven years.
• 1969 / Still coached by Theo Brouwer, vv Kolping Boys wins the title in NHVB Sunday Division 1C, 2 points ahead of closest followers vv ZAP. The decisive points are clinched on the last day of the season in a victory over vv ALC (1-0), while ZAP suffers a defeat in nearby Sint Pancras at SV Vrone. No immediate promotion results, however, due to only two places in KNVB District West’s Sunday League 4 being available, and three NHVB D1 divisions having been disputed. Meeting the two other champions, vv Berdos and BKC, in a set of promotion play-offs, vv Kolping Boys finishes in first place, with vv Berdos accompanying the club from Oudorp to Sunday League 4. Also in 1969, a new, larger clubhouse is erected at Kolping Boys’ Terrein Herenweg.
• 1972 / The municipality of Oudorp is integrated into the larger City of Alkmaar – with the villages of Oudorp and Sint Pancras being completely incorporated into the new neighbourhoods of the town. From that moment onwards, vv Kolping Boys starts a lobby with Alkmaar’s municipal authorities to be allowed to move to a new, larger ground, as the membership of the club keeps on growing, with new membership mainly coming from the new residential areas on the northern outskirts of Alkmaar.
• 1974 / vv Kolping Boys finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4A, 3 points behind champions SV DTS.
• 1975 / vv Kolping Boys finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4A for the second year running, 9 points behind champions SV De Foresters.
• 1976 / Alkmaar’s city-council takes the decision to build vv Kolping Boys a new park at Hoornsevaart with five pitches.
• 1977 / vv Kolping Boys finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4A for the third time in four seasons, with only 1 point less than champions RKSV AFC ’34.
• 1978 / Abandoning Terrein Herenweg after seventeen years, vv Kolping Boys moves into the newly built Sportpark De Nollen at Hoornsevaart in November 1978, with the inaugural ceremony being performed by Alkmaar’s alderman Jan Helder. The clubhouse is designed by the Reus-Leeuwenkamp architectural firm. 
• 1981 / Coached by Siem van Ham, vv Kolping Boys finishes in joint last place in District West I’s Sunday League 4A with VZV – going on to draw a first tie-break match against that club (2-2) and suffering defeat in a second encounter (1-0), with both games being played at vv VIOS-W’s Sportpark De Doorbraak in Warmenhuizen. As such, vv Kolping Boys drops back into the ranks of the NHVB after twelve seasons. 
• 1982 / Still coached by Siem van Ham, vv Kolping Boys wins the title in NHVB Zondag Hoofdklasse, 3 points ahead of closest rivals SV Geel-Zwart ’30. As such, the club manages an immediate return to Sunday League 4.
• 1985 / A covered stand is built alongside the southern side of the main pitch at Sportpark De Nollen, with the last stone being laid on January 1st, 1986, by the two driving forces behind the project, Pé Oud and Jaap de Wit.
• 1986 / Former vv Kolping Boys’ youth academy player Richard Min makes his debut in AZ’s first team, making him the first former Kolping Boys member to make it to professional league football. Min stays with AZ for two seasons before bowing out into non-league in 1988.
• 1987 / Coached by Jan Visscher, vv Kolping Boys clinches the title in District West I’s Sunday League 4A, 10 points ahead of runners-up SV Wieringerwaard, and without suffering a single defeat all season. As such, the club manages a return to Sunday League 3 after an absence of 22 years.
• 1988 / Still coached by Jan Visscher, vv Kolping Boys wins its second title in a row, finishing top of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3A, 2 points ahead of closest followers SVW ’27. The decisive points are clinched in an away win against derby rivals VAVV Alcmaria Victrix. As such, the club wins promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first time.
• 1991 / Coached by Hans Geerking, vv Kolping Boys finishes in eighth place in District West I’s Sunday League 2A, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. Winning the group stage against HRC and KBV, vv Kolping Boys qualifies for the final against vv Nijenrodes, played at RCH’s Heemsteeds Sportpark. Winning the tie 1-0, with Gerton van der Veld scoring the only goal, vv Kolping Boys wins promotion to Sunday League 1 for the first time in club history.
• 1992 / Coached by Hans Geerking, vv Kolping Boys turns out to be unable to cope with the level of play in Sunday League 1A, finishing in second-last place and thus dropping back into League 2 after just one season, along with bottom club vv Zeevogels.
• 1993 / Still coached by Hans Geerking, vv Kolping Boys finishes in joint first position in District West I’s Sunday League 2A with KBV and WFC – going on to defeat both of these clubs in a tie-break competition. As such, Kolping Boys manages an immediate return to Sunday League 1. Also in 1993, the clubhouse at Sportpark De Nollen is extended.
• 1997 / Coached by Peter Tania, vv Kolping Boys finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 1A, thus dropping back into League 2 after four seasons, along with the club finishing in second-last position, vv Aalsmeer.
• 1998 / Finishing in joint first place in Sunday League 2A with RKVV Velsen, vv Kolping Boys meets that club in a tie-break match at RKVV DEM’s Sportpark Adrichem (Noord), suffering defeat in that encounter (2-1) and thus missing out on an immediate return to Sunday League 1.
• 1999 / Finishing in eighth place in Sunday League 2A, vv Kolping Boys qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated by USV Hercules. Also in 1999, former Kolping Boys youth academy player Robert van Westerop, the son of longtime AZ equipment manager Cor van Westerop, makes his debut as a professional league goalkeeper with AZ, going on to defend the colours of FC Volendam, FC Emmen, and Helmond Sport before hanging up his boots in 2011. That same year, another former Kolping Boys youth player, midfielder Arvid Smit, breaks into Telstar’s first team, going on to have a colourful career at BV De Graafschap, PSV, FC Groningen, Willem II, CS Marítimo, União Leiria, FC Volendam, and SC Telstar, where he plays his last match in 2011.
• 2000 / vv Kolping Boys reaches the semifinal of District West I’s Regional Cup (Districtsbeker), bowing out against HVV Hollandia (1-5).
• 2002 / Coached by Willem Zeijlmans, vv Kolping Boys finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 2B, thus dropping back into League 3 along with the club finishing in second-last place, RKSV Vitesse ’22.
• 2004 / Coached by John Stevens, vv Kolping boys finishes in tenth place in District West I’s Sunday League 3A, going on to suffer defeat against SV De Rijp in the relegation play-offs and thus descending into Sunday League 4 along with bottom clubs vv Victoria O and FC Den Helder.
• 2005 / vv Kolping Boys finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4A, 10 points behind derby rivals SV Vrone.
• 2006 / vv Kolping Boys finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4A, 5 points behind champions WGW.
• 2007 / Coached by Rob Klanker, vv Kolping Boys clinches the title in District West I’s Sunday League 4A, 4 points ahead of closest rivals FC Den Helder. The decisive points are clinched in the last match of the season, a direct encounter against FC Den Helder, with a sole Bart Pastoor goal deciding the match and the title. As such, vv Kolping Boys manages an immediate return to League 3.
• 2008 / Still coached by Rob Klanker, vv Kolping Boys wins its second title in a row, finishing top of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3A, 2 points ahead of runners-up vv ZAP. The decisive points are clinched in a win over vv SRC. As such, vv Kolping Boys accedes to Sunday League 2 after an absence of six years.
• 2010 / Sportpark De Nollen’s main pitch is equipped with a synthetic surface.
• 2011 / Coached by Robin Ernest, vv Kolping Boys finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 2A, thus dropping back into League 3 along with bottom club vv HSV.
• 2012 / Finishing as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 3A, 3 points behind champions vv De Blokkers, vv Kolping Boys qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by IVV (4-0 aggr.).
• 2013 / Former Kolping Boys youth academy player Gino van Kessel, a striker, makes his debut as a professional league player with Almere City FC, going on to have a colourful career, defending the colours of AS Trenčín, AC Arles-Avignon, SK Slavia Praha, KS Lechia Gdańsk, Oxford United FC, KSV Roeselare, FC Spartak Trnava, Olympiacos Nicosia, Dalkurd FF, Gyirmót FC Győr, and MFK Zemplin Michalovce.
• 2014 / vv Kolping Boys finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 3B, 2 points behind champions SV De Meteoor – and missing out on the promotion play-offs. Also in 2014, former Kolping Boys youth academy player Stijn Spierings has his breakthrough as a professional league player with AZ, going on to have spells at Sparta Rotterdam, RKC Waalwijk, PFK Levski Sofia, Toulouse FC, and RC Lens.
• 2015 / Coached by Marc de Wilde, vv Kolping Boys finishes in third place in District West I’s Sunday League 3B, just 3 points behind champions vv Alkmaarsche Boys. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club edges past SV Kleine Sluis in R1 (2-1 aggr.), going on to rout RKSV Vitesse ’22 in R2 (6-1 aggr.), thus winning promotion to Sunday League 2.
• 2018 / Finishing in fourth place in Sunday League 2A, vv Kolping Boys qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by SV Hillegom (5-2 A.E.T.).
• 2019 / Still coached by Marc de Wilde, vv Kolping Boys finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 2A, 6 points behind champions vv De Zouaven. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club goes on to knock out SO Soest (3-1), AVV Zeeburgia (1-0) and vv Assendelft (5-2 A.E.T.) successively, thus acceding to Sunday League 1 after an absence of 22 years.
• 2020 / While the focus remains firmly on Sunday league football, vv Kolping Boys enters a first team into the Saturday leagues for the first time, which begins its existence in District West I’s Saturday League 4.
• 2023 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 1A, vv Kolping Boys qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by SCS TAC ’90 (4-3).
• 2024 / Coached by Rob Klanker, vv Kolping Boys clinches the title in Sunday League 1A, 6 points ahead of closest followers vv AGB. As such, the club accedes to National Division 4, the fifth and lowest tier of the Netherlands’ national league pyramid, for the first time in club history. The decisive points are obtained in a 4-1 away win against sole remaining rivals vv AGB. Moreover, the club also wins District West I’s Regional Cup (Districtsbeker), defeating SV Huizen in the final (0-0 & penalty shoot-out) played at FC Abcoude’s Sportpark Hollandse Kade.

Note – Important parts of the information above were derived from two booklets, published on the occasion of anniversary celebrations of vv Kolping Boys: ‘Jubileumgids vv Kolping Boys 50 jaar 1939-1989’, by Jan Visser, Nico Valk, Menno Haga & Jan Giling (1989), and ‘Kroniek van 75 jaar Kolping Boys’, by IJs Broers, Peter Groot, Jan Kraakman & Dick Veel (2014). Both of these books were in-house publications by vv Kolping Boys.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author