BELGIUM: KFC Eendracht Kapelle-op-den-Bos

Karel Symonsstadion, Kapelle-op-den-Bos Oxdonk (KFC Eendracht Kapelle-op-den-Bos)

Belgium, province: Flemish Brabant

22 I 2023 / KFCE Kapelle-op-den-Bos - FC Melsbroek B 4-2 / Brabant, ACFF Provincial League 3B (= BE level 8)

Historical overview (provisional version)

• 1930 / Foundation of Sporting Club (SC) Kapelle-op-den-Bos, a first football club in Kapelle-op-den-Bos. Joining Belgium’s FA, the club obtains matricule 1710. 
• 1937 / Having played six seasons in Brabant’s Provincial League 3 (1930-32, 1933-36), SC Kapelle-op-den-Bos is officially wound up on April 5th, 1937.
• 1939 / Two years after the demise of SC Kapelle-op-den-Bos, a successor club sees the daylight called Hooger Op Kapelle. Joining Belgium’s FA, the club obtains matricule 2819.
• 1942 / Foundation of FC Vaartkapoenen, which was probably the football club of the hamlet of Oxdonk, on the eastern bank of the Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal – whereas Kapelle itself is situated on the western side. FC Vaartkapoenen is admitted as FA member under matricule 3517.
• 1943 / Foundation of a third club in Kapelle-op-den-Bos, Voetbalvereniging (VV) Sparta Kapelle-op-den-Bosch (matricule 3866).
• 1945 / In the year following the liberation of Belgium from the German yoke, the three clubs in Kapelle-op-den-Bos, none of which really made much of an impression in the war years, conclude a merger, resulting in the foundation of FC Eendracht Kapelle-op-den-Bos, often referred to abbreviatedly as FCE Kapelle-op-den-Bos. Following FA rules of the time, the merger club is awarded a new matricule (4265).
• 1947 / FCE Kapelle-op-den-Bos registers its first success, winning the title in Brabant’s Provincial League 3I and thus acceding to Provincial League 2. The adventure at that level lasts for three seasons, with relegation following in 1950. In the following 18 years, the club alternates spells in P3 (1950-54, 1960-62 & 1964-66) and P2 (1954-60, 1962-64 & 1966-68).
• 1968 / Winning the title in Provincial League 2C, FC Eendracht Kapelle-op-den-Bos accedes to Brabant’s Provincial League 1 for the first – and only – time in club history. 
• 1969 / Finishing last in P1, FCE Kapelle-op-den-Bos is retrograded to P2. 
• 1983 / After 14 consecutive seasons in Provincial League 2, the club is relegated to Provincial League 3. 
• 1999 / Finishing bottom of the league in P3E, KFC Eendracht Kapelle-op-den-Bos finds itself in Provincial League 4 for the first time in club history. In the following decades, the club alternates spells in P4 (1999-2005, 2010-11, 2014-15, 2016-20) and P3 (2005-10, 2011-14, 2015-16, 2020-).

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

NETHERLANDS: vv DOS Kampen

Sportpark De Maten Zuid, Kampen (vv DOS Kampen)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

21 I 2023 / vv DOS Kampen - vv Hulzense Boys 3-1 / Saturday League 1E (= NL level 6)

Historical overview

• 1926 / Foundation of Voetbalvereniging (vv) Door Oefening Sterk (DOS) Kampen, often referred to locally as 'DOSK'. The first pitch of this Saturday league club is situated at Sint Nicolaasdijk.
• 1937 / DOS Kampen moves from its first ground to the so-called Singel-Terrein, situated in Kampen's main park (Kamper Stadspark). The club's nickname, 'Poelänten', is a reference to ducks from the nearby canal regularly flying onto the pitch. 
• 1958 / After a relatively anonymous first three decades of club history, DOS Kampen wins promotion to Saturday League 3 by obtaining the title in District East's Saturday League 4B.
• 1960 / DOS Kampen wins promotion to Saturday League 2, the highest level of the Saturday league pyramid at the time.
• 1963 / Winning the title in Saturday League 2C without losing a match, DOS Kampen qualifies for the National Saturday League championship play-offs, in which SV Spakenburg and vv Noordwijk prove too strong. In the following decades, DOS remains a force to be reckoned with in the higher reaches of Saturday League 2, but the club misses out on promotion to Saturday League 1, a new level which is created in 1970.
• 1972 / Moving away from its Singel-Terrein after a stay of 35 years, vv DOS Kampen settles at the newly built Sportpark De Maten on the southern outskirts of Kampen. The main pitch disposes of a covered grandstand holding some 750 spectators; and a covered terrace facing it. Due to being situated in a new housing estate with an ever-growing population, the club attracts large groups of young new members in the following years.
• 1977 / Winning the title in Saturday League 2C after a comprehensive victory over CVV Be Quick '28, vv DOS Kampen finally qualifies for Saturday League 1.
• 1981 / Quickly establishing itself as one of the dominant teams in Saturday League 1 after the promotion in 1977, vv DOS Kampen clinches the title in Saturday League 1B - subsequently also winning the National Saturday League title by defeating vv Noordwijk. In the National Non-League final against Sunday League champions (and future professional league side) RKC, DOS loses the away leg (5-2), but makes up for that with a home win (4-1). In the end, the club misses out on the title by emphatically losing the ensuing third game, played at a neutral venue in Veenendaal (5-1).
• 1982 / In a reversal of fortunes, after the very successful 1980-81 season, DOSK finishes in 13th place in Saturday League 1B, resulting in the first-ever relegation in club history. On March 19th, 1982, the main stand, offering a place to some 750 spectators, is inaugurated; prior to 1982, there were no spectator facilities at all around DOS' main pitch. In the 1990s, an uncovered terrace was added on the side of the pitch facing the main stand; and this terrace was given a plastic roof - purchased from the nearby gas station - in c. 2010.
• 1983 / After finishing second in Saturday League 2D, vv DOS Kampen manages to return to League 1 after an absence of just one season by winning the play-offs.
• 1988 / In the most successful year of club history, DOSK first manages to win the title in Saturday League 1B for the second time in seven years; the decisive match, away at vv Heerjansdam, is won 1-0. Following this, the club also wins the National Saturday League title by winning a group of 3 against fellow-champions in 1A and 1C, vv IJsselmeervogels and vv Bennekom. Lastly, making up for the loss against RKC in 1981, DOS Kampen clinches its first and only-ever National Non-League title by defeating Sunday champions SV De Treffers (the first two matches end in 1-1; finally, in the tie-break, played at Rohda Raalte's Sportpark Tijenraan, DOS has the better of their rivals from Groesbeek (2-1).
• 1992 / Following the title in 1988, some more, mostly satisfactory, seasons followed in Saturday League 1B, until relegation follows in 1992. Meanwhile, 19-year-old youth prodigy Jaap Stam earns himself a transfer to professional league side FC Zwolle - and goes on to have an impressive career at Cambuur-Leeuwarden, Willem II, PSV, Manchester United FC, SS Lazio, AC Milan, and AFC Ajax (as well as earning 67 caps for the Netherlands). Stam is not the only DOS Kampen player who made it to the pro ranks - others include Henri van der Vegt, Gerard van den Belt, and the brothers Jeroen & Henrico Drost.
• 1993 / Winning the title in League 2D, DOSK manages an immediate return to Saturday League 1.
• 1996 / At ABS's Sportpark De Looënk in Bathmen, vv DOS Kampen loses the final of District East's Regional Cup against Sunday League 2 side vv DVC '26 (2-1). That same year, a new division is created to top the Saturday League pyramid, the so-called Hoofdklasse (already in existence in Sunday League football since 1974) - and by virtue of its third place in Saturday League 1C, DOSK qualifies automatically for the new division.
• 1998 / After two seasons at Hoofdklasse level, DOS Kampen is relegated to Saturday League 1, but manages an immediate return in 1999 through a title win in League 1D. In the following decade the club alternates two spells in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse (1999-2000 & 2003-2008) with a three-year spell in Saturday League 1 (2000-03).
• 2003 / In July 2003, vv DOS Kampen plays host to English pro side Sheffield Wednesday FC, losing the pre-season friendly 4-0. The following year, another high-profile side from abroad visits Sportpark De Maten - Argentina's CA Boca Juniors.
• 2008 / DOSK is relegated from Hoofdklasse - and have never returned to that level (renamed National Division 4 since 2022) since.
• 2012 / A synthetic surface is installed on DOS' main pitch.
• 2015 / vv DOS Kampen suffers an humiliating relegation to Saturday League 2.
• 2019 / Winning the title in League 2H, the club manages a return to Saturday League 1.

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

BELGIUM: KWB Sint-Jozef (1970-1972) / Heis Sport (1972-)

Sint-Jozefstraat, Heesveld (Heis Sport, formerly KWB Sint-Jozef)

Belgium, province: Limburg

15 I 2023 / Heis Sport - Genker VV 0-8 / Limburg, Provincial League 3C (= BE level 8)

Historical overview

• 1970 / After a botched attempt the year before, a recreational football club is founded in the hamlet of Eik - joining the Katholieke Werkliedenbond (KWB) under the name KWB Sint-Jozef, the new club found its home on a pasture in the neighbouring hamlet of Heesveld (in fact the exact spot of the pitch shown in the pictures below).
• 1972 / The decision is made to take the leap to the official Belgian Football Association, the membership request duly being accepted in May 1972 under matricule 7742. The new club is given the name Heis Sport - Heis being an acronym for the three hamlets Heesveld (H), Eik (EI), and Spurk (S); an idea thought up by the local primary school teacher. The club's first chairman is E. Nijssen, a local councillor.
• 1974 / Having started its life in Provincial League 3 in 1972 - the lowest provincial level in Belgian Limburg at that time - Heis Sport is retrograded to the newly created Provincial League 4 two years later.
• 1975 / The original clubhouse, constructed in 1972, undergoes its first extension.
• 1981 / Finishing second in Provincial League 4B, Heis Sport, coached by G. Mercken, manages its first promotion by winning the play-offs. 
• 1983 / Heis Sport's canteen is renovated for a second time, giving it its current shape (cp. pictures below).
• 1986 / Following five seasons in P3, Heis Sport suffers relegation to Provincial League 4.
• 1990 / Heis Sport clinches its first-ever league title, being guided to first place in Provincial League 4G by its coach K. Tilkin. The club thus returns to P3 after an absence of four years.
• 1992 / Winning a second title, Heis Sport accedes to Provincial League 2 for the first time. The successful trainer is R. Schreurs.
• 1993 / The 1992-93 season is the most successful in Heis Sport's history, with the club finishing a respectable fifth in P2C.
• 1994 / After two seasons in Provincial League 2, Heis Sport is relegated back to P3.
• 1999 / Heis Sport has to come to terms with a return to Provincial League 4, the level which it had escaped at the beginning of the decade.
• 2002 / Finishing fifth in P4B, Heis Sport finds its way back to Provincial League 3 by winning the promotion play-offs under the guidance of its coach Julien Reynders.
• 2009 / Two years after having been relegated back to P4, Heis Sport finds its way back up to P3 after winning the play-off final in an away match at Waterloos VV. This time, the spell in Provincial League 3 lasts for two seasons.
• 2012 / Finishing second in P4D with coach Thierry Walravens, Heis Sport wins the promotion play-off final in the sweetest of circumstances, beating its derby rivals SK Munsterbilzen in an away match. Again, the club holds out at P3 level for two seasons only.
• 2020 / In second place in P4A after 25 matches in the 2019-20 season, cut short by the COVID lockdown, Heis Sport accedes to Provincial League 3 once more.

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