Saturday, 7 November 2026

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All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author
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NETHERLANDS: SV Dedemsvaart (1968-2021) / SCD '83 (1983-2021) / SSA DVC (2021-2022) / DVC Dedemsvaart (2022-)

Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Boekweit, Dedemsvaart (DVC Dedemsvaart, formerly SV Dedemsvaart / SCD '83 / SSA DVC)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

7 XI 2026 / DVC Dedemsvaart - vv DES 1-1 / District East, Saturday League 4D (= NL level 9)

Timeline
  • 1904 / In Dedemsvaart, a village in the north of the Province of Overijssel, a first football club sees the daylight, Dedemsvaartsche Voetbalclub (DVC), with recreational matches being played on a plot of farmland owned by Mr Teekman to the west of the marketplace (Markt) in the heart of Dedemsvaart. The club does not join any football association as yet, sticking to recreational football. In the following years, new makeshift football pitches are laid out at the back of the Pieters Shipyard (Nieuwewijk), halfway between Zwierswijk and Krikkenwijk, and to the east of Tramstraat (later renamed Molstraat).
  • 1909 / Mention is made of a football club from Dedemsvaart called DVV (Dedemsvaartsche Voetbalvereeniging) joining the so-called Noord-Centrale Voetbalbond (NCVB), the sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, later renamed KNVB) in the western half of Overijssel and the northwestern part of Guelders. It is unclear if DVV was the same club as DVC – it is clear, though, that its NCVB membership was terminated after two months only in November 1909.
  • ± 1913 / DVC settles on a pitch on a plot of farmland owned by Mr Alteveer, in the hamlet De Mulderij to the north of Dedemsvaart proper.  The further fate of DVC is unknown, with the club probably folding in the course of the mobilisation years (1914-18).
  • 1918 / Foundation of a Roman Catholic football club in Dedemsvaart, Roomsch-Katholieke Dedemsvaartsche Voetbalvereening, abbreviated as RKDVV, with Andries Heitbrink being mentioned as the founding father of the club. RKDVV settles on a pitch at Kerkeweide, at the back of the Koerhuis butcher’s shop. In the first years of its existence, RKDVV does not seem to have joined any league association.
  • 1921 / Foundation of a new football club in Dedemsvaart, vv Dedemsvaart, which joins the ranks of the NCVB. It is unclear where the ground of this club was situated – possibly at Terrein aan de Zuidwolderstraat (owned by smallholder and pub owner Knelis Vogelzang) or at Van Rooijens Hoofdwijk, to the south of Dedemsvaart proper. Also in 1921, RKDVV acquires a proper clubhouse – being allowed to use the St Vitus Vereenigingsgebouw as such. 
  • 1924 / After an existence of three years, vv Dedemsvaart folds, ceasing all activities.
  • 1929 / A new, non-confessional football club sees the daylight in Dedemsvaart, with the new club taking on the name of one of its predecessors, DVC. The founding fathers of the club are Koos van den Berg, Roelof Koppe, Abraham Leman, and Jan van Wilpe, while Jan Litz takes on the role of chairman. The founding meeting of the club having been held at Café Frits Jansen at Hoofdvaart, the new club is given permission by the café holder to lay out a pitch at the back of his pub, known subsequently as Terrein ‘Achter Jansen’. Joining the NCVB, DVC is placed in NCVB (Sunday) Division 2.
  • 1930 / Winning the title in NCVB Division 2, DVC wins promotion to Division 1 of this league association.
  • 1933 / At the behest of the Netherlands’ Football Association, DVC has to change its name, becoming Sportvereeniging (SV) Dedemsvaart, to avoid confusion with an older club called DVC from Delft; locally, however, the club continues to be referred to as DVC by many in the following decades. Also in 1933, a small stand is erected alongside the pitch of Terrein achter Jansen, allowing some 150 people a covered seat.
  • 1934 / Some fifteen years after its foundation, RKDVV joins the NCVB. By this time, the club has a pitch at the back of the Roman Catholic church on Langewijk.
  • ± 1936 / RKDVV absorbs the football branch of the so-called Katholieke Jeugdcentrale (KJC), the local branch of a leisure association for Roman Catholic youths.
  • 1940 / SV Dedemsvaart wins the title in NCVB Division 1, but due to the mobilisation of the Netherlands’ army, no regular championship play-offs are held, with no promotion being at stake as a result. Following the German occupation of the Netherlands in the spring of 1940, the NCVB is give the name Afdeling Zwolle.
  • 1941 / With RKDVV folding, the bulk of the remaining membership of this club joins SV Dedemsvaart. 
  • 1943 / SV Dedemsvaart wins the title in Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 1, with the club failing to win promotion in the championship play-offs (held in 1944).
  • 1947 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 1, SV Dedemsvaart goes on to win the championship play-offs, thus acceding to District East’s Sunday League 4 for the first time. Also in 1947, a first Saturday club sees the daylight in Dedemsvaart, vv Avereest, formed by the Protestant (Evangelical) part of the village population; this club’s pitch was situated at the back of Villa Dina in Dedemsvaart.
  • 1949 / SV Dedemsvaart finishes as runner-up in District East’s Sunday League 4B, 8 points behind champions vv Olst.
  • 1954 / SV Dedemsvaart clinches the title in District North’s Sunday League 4C, 8 points ahead of closest followers vv EMMS. The decisive points are clinched in a convincing 8-0 home win over vv Raptim, attended by some 1,500 spectators. In the ensuing championship play-offs, ‘SVD’ is drawn against vv Valthermond. With each club winning the home tie (no goal difference was taken into account in those days), the two clubs meet for a decisive third match at Terrein aan de Beilerstraat in Westerbork (crowd of over 2,000). As SV Dedemsvaart walks away with a 3-2 win (decisive goal by Raterink), the team of coach Arend Gerrits wins promotion to Sunday League 3 for the first time. 
  • 1957 / In the course of the 1957-58 season, an uncovered terrace is created alongside the eastern touchline of Terrein achter Jansen.
  • 1958 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3B, SV Dedemsvaart descends into Sunday League 4.
  • 1961 / Finishing in joint first place in District North’s Sunday League 4F with SV Smilde, SV Dedemsvaart goes on to defeat that club in a tie-break match for the title (1-0). In the subsequent round of championship play-offs against vv Kloosterburen, MOVV, and vv Weerdinge, the club manages a second place behind MOVV, enough to win promotion to Sunday League 3 along with the club from Midwolda. The decisive points are clinched in a 4-1 home win over vv Kloosterburen.
  • 1963 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3B, SV Dedemsvaart drops back into Sunday League 4 after two years. Also in 1963, the decision is taken by Avereest’s local authorities to create a new municipal sports facility on Boekweitstraat in Dedemsvaart-Zuid.
  • 1964 / SV Dedemsvaart finishes as runner-up in District North’s Sunday League 4F, 2 points behind champions SC Assen.
  • 1965 / Having to leave Terrein achter Jansen after 36 years, SV Dedemsvaart settles on two makeshift pitches on a temporary location on Dorgelo’s Wijk in Dedemsvaart-Noord in the course of the 1964-65 season, with the covered stand of the old location being taken along. Also in 1965, SV Dedemsvaart absorbs local Saturday club vv Avereest, resulting in Saturday football being introduced at SV Dedemsvaart – but with the Sunday branch remaining the dominant factor.
  • 1968 / After three years at Terrein Dorgelo’s Wijk, SV Dedemsvaart moves into the newly laid-out Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Boekweit, with the inaugural match on the new location resulting in a 6-4 win against vv Gasselternijveen (October 8th, 1968).
  • 1969 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 4F, SV Dedemsvaart descends into the ranks of Afdeling Zwolle after a 22 years. Also in 1969, the club celebrates its fortieth anniversary with a gala match against MVV Alcides, in which the home side is bolstered by former vv Heerenveen, SC Enschede, SV De Enschedese Boys, and Netherlands international striker Abe Lenstra (4-4).
  • 1971 / The Saturday branch of SV Dedemsvaart, absorbed into the club six years previously, forms its own board within the club.
  • 1977 / Finishing bottom of the table in Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 1, SV Dedemsvaart ignominiously descends into Division 2 of this league association.
  • 1979 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 2 – with only one defeat, against vv Kuinre, being suffered in the course of the season – SV Dedemsvaart manages a return to Division 1 of this league association. The successful coach is Willem Knoops.
  • 1980 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 1 following a 1-1 draw away at last remaining rival vv EMMS, attended by a baffling number of 3,000 spectators, SV Dedemsvaart wins promotion to District East’s Sunday League 4. The successful coach is Willem Knoops. 
  • 1981 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4H, SV Dedemsvaart drops back into the ranks of Afdeling Zwolle after one season only, alongside the club in second-last place, vv Lettele.
  • 1983 / The Saturday branch of SV Dedemsvaart, which had had its own board since 1971, decides to form a breakaway club, Sportclub Dedemsvaart 1983, abbreviated as SCD ’83 – with Sportpark De Boekweit henceforth being shared by the two clubs.
  • 1989 / The sixtieth anniversary of SV Dedemsvaart is marked with a gala match between FC Twente and APO Levadiacos (3-0).
  • 1991 / Finishing in fourth place in Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 1A, SV Dedemsvaart qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is drawn in a group against ASV Dronten and vv Kampen. Managing an away win against the former (1-3), the club goes on to defeat vv Kampen at Sportpark De Boekweit (2-1); as a result, SV Dedemsvaart manages a return to Sunday League 4 after an absence of ten years. 
  • 1992 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4H, SV Dedemsvaart drops back into Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 1 after one year only, along with the club in second-last position, SV Raalte. Also in 1992, with SV Dedemsvaart and SCD ’83 having shared the clubhouse at Sportpark De Boekweit in the past nine years, the former now inaugurates its separate clubhouse on the park, inaugurated in a most peculiar way by Alle Jan Pijlman, the mayor of Dedemsvaart, who inadvertently smashes one of the windows of the new building with a ball.
  • 1993 / Finishing in fourth place in Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 1, SV Dedemsvaart qualifies for the promotion play-offs, being drawn in a group with SV Broekland and SV VENO; however, suffering a crushing home defeat against the former (0-5) and only managing a draw against the latter (2-2), the club misses out on a return to Sunday League 4.
  • 1994 / Joint runner-up in Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 1A with vv IJhorst, 1 point behind champions SV Mariënheem, SV Dedemsvaart qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is drawn in a group with ASV Dronten and vv IJhorst; following a home draw against the former (0-0), the club defeats vv IJhorst in an away tie (0-2), sufficient for promotion to Sunday League 4. The successful coach is Frits Stappenbelt.
  • 1995 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4H, 2 points ahead of closest rivals Wijhe ’92, SV Dedemsvaart wins back-to-back promotions, acceding to Sunday League 3 after an absence of 32 years at that level. The successful coach is Hennie Mellema. Also in 1995, SV Dedemsvaart manages to defeat Eredivisie side Go Ahead Eagles in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark De Boekweit (2-1).
  • 1996 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, SV Dedemsvaart qualifies for the promotion play-offs, being drawn in a group with ZVV Be Quick and Koninklijke DC&FC UD 1875 – eventually having to leave the honours to the latter club. Also in 1996, SCD ’83 wins promotion from the ranks of Afdeling Zwolle for the first time, following a third place in Afdeling Zwolle Saturday Division 1A; due to Zaterdag Hoofdklasse being introduced as the new top division of the Saturday pyramid that same year, the club does not win promotion to Saturday League 4, but to Saturday League 3. The successful coach is Bert Bosman.
  • 1997 / SCD ’83 finishes as runner-up in District East’s Saturday League 3C, 8 points behind champions vv Vroomshoopse Boys. That same year, a covered stand is constructed alongside the main pitch at Sportpark De Boekweit, with the new facility being inaugurated on September 7th, 1997, in advance of the league match between SV Dedemsvaart and RKSV De Zweef (0-1).
  • 1998 / Finishing in tenth place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, SV Dedemsvaart goes on to avoid relegation in a play-off against SV Eerbeekse Boys, played at Sportpark De Molenbeek in Heerde (2-0). Also in 1998, formerl SCD ’83 youth academy goalkeeper Henry Louwdijk makes his professional league debut for FC Zwolle at the age of 20; Louwdijk would serve as a backup goalkeeper at FC Zwolle and BV Veendam in the following seven years, bowing out into non-league with RKSV Rohda Raalte – and later vv HHC Hardenberg.
  • 1999 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 3B with coach Henk van Zwol, SV Dedemsvaart drops back into Sunday League 4, alongside bottom club SV Almelo.
  • 2000 / Former SCD ’83 youth player Youssouf Hersi makes his professional league debut at AFC Ajax at the age of 18. The attacking midfielder would go on to have subsequent spells at NAC, NEC, SC Heerenveen, SBV Vitesse, FC Twente, AEK FC, BV De Graafschap, Western Sydney Wanderers, and Perth Glory FC, eventually hanging up his boots in 2015.
  • 2001 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4H, 2 points ahead of closest rivals SV Heeten, SV Dedemsvaart wins promotion to Sunday League 3. The decisive points are clinched in a 4-2 home win over SV Dalfsen. Meanwhile, in Saturday League 3C, SCD ’83 is having a less fortuitous season, finishing in third-last place with coach Jan Smid and descending into Saturday League 4 alongside vv Mariënberg and bottom club vv ‘s-Heerenbroek. 
  • 2002 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3B, SV Dedemsvaart drops back into Sunday League 4 after one season only, alongside the club in second-last place, vv Heerde. Meanwhile, in Saturday League 4C, SCD ’83 finishes as runner-up, 1 point behind champions vv Mariënberg, going on to win the ensuing play-off round, thus breaking down the door to Saturday League 3. The successful coach is Jan Smid.
  • 2003 / SV Dedemsvaart signs Sip Bloemberg as its new head coach. Bloemberg is a former professional league player of FC Groningen, RWDM, and FC Twente (1971-84).
  • 2004 / SV Dedemsvaart finishes as runner-up in District East’s Sunday League 4H, 6 points behind champions SC Overwetering. Coach Sip Bloemberg leaves the club after one season.
  • 2005 / SV Dedemsvaart signs Kees Kist as its new head coach. Kist was a professional league player at vv Heerenveen, AZ ’67, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Mulhouse, and SC Heerenveen (1970-87), moreover gaining 21 caps for the Netherlands and being part of his country’s squad for the 1980 European Championships in Italy.
  • 2006 / Champions in District East’s Saturday League 3C, 8 points ahead of closest followers CSV ’28, SCD ’83 wins promotion to Saturday League 2. The successful coach is Ton Beumer.
  • 2007 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 4H, SV Dedemsvaart descends into Sunday League 5 along with bottom club SC Wesepe. Coach Kees Kist leaves the club, making way for Sip Bloemberg, who returns to Dedemsvaart after three years. Meanwhile, in Saturday League 2J, SCD ’83 finishes in second-last place, with the team of coach Ton Beumer thus descending into Saturday League 3 along with bottom club IJVV.
  • 2009 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 5H, 3 points ahead of closest rivals vv Activia, SV Dedemsvaart wins promotion to Sunday League 4. The successful coach, Sip Bloemberg, leaves the club after two seasons.
  • 2010 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Saturday League 3C, SCD ’83 staves off relegation in a play-off against Sportclub Eefde (6-2 aggr.).
  • 2011 / Finishing in fourth place in District East’s Sunday League 4H, SV Dedemsvaart qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out ZVV AZC in R1 (5-3 aggr.) before being eliminated in R2 at the hands of SV Groen Wit ’62 (2-2 aggr. & penalty shoot-out). Meanwhile, in District East’s Saturday League 3C, SCD ’83 finishes in second-last place, with the team of coach Jan Peter Jonkman thus descending into Saturday League 4 along with bottom club WZC. Also in 2011, the youth academies of SV Dedemsvaart and SCD ’83 are merged into one under the name Jeugdvoetbalclub (JVC) Dedemsvaart.
  • 2012 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4B, 1 point ahead of closest rivals WVV Wierden, SV Dedemsvaart manages a return to Sunday League 3 after ten years. The successful coach is Patrick Wijsman.
  • 2013 / Runner-up in District East’s Sunday League 3A, 7 points behind champions RKSV VOGIDO, SV Dedemsvaart qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club crashes out in R1 against AJC ’96 (3-2 aggr.). Meanwhile, finishing as runner-up in District East’s Saturday League 4C, 4 points behind champions HFC Storica, SCD ’83 wins direct promotion to Saturday League 3 due to extra promotion places being available. The successful coach is Jan Peter Jonkman.
  • 2015 / Coached by Patrick Wijsman, SV Dedemsvaart finishes bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3A, thus descending into Sunday League 4 alongside SC Enschede, RKVV RSC, and vv Berghuizen.
  • 2016 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4D, 9 points ahead of closest followers vv Weerdinge, SV Dedemsvaart manages an immediate return to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Arnoud Rouwenhorst.
  • 2017 / Finishing in fifth place in District North’s Sunday League 3D, SV Dedemsvaart qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club eases past vv Drachten in R1 (5-1 aggr.), with the club drawing a bye in R2 due to its opponent, Velocitas 1897, voluntarily withdrawing from the competition. As a result, the squad of coach Arnoud Rouwenhorst manages a historic promotion to Sunday League 2. Meanwhile, SCD ’83 manages a third place in District North’s Saturday League 3D; thus qualifying for the promotion-relegation play-offs, the club has the better of SC Loppersum in R1 (3-0 aggr.), only to be knocked out in the final by GV Groen Geel (za) (5-3 aggr.).
  • 2018 / In the best achievement in club history, SV Dedemsvaart finishes in third place in Sunday League 2L, suffering elimination in R1 of the promotion play-offs against SC Stadspark (2-2 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out).
  • 2021 / With SV Dedemsvaart having spent its last few seasons in Sunday League 2 and SCD ’83 in Saturday League 3, the two clubs conclude a merger in September 2021, resulting in the foundation of Dedemsvaartse Voetbalclub (DVC) Dedemsvaart. As a prelude to the merger, the two clubs had already chosen to take part in the 2020-21 season with one first team only – strikingly not in Sunday League 2, but taking the place of SCD ’83 in Saturday League 3 – under the name Samenwerking Seniorenafdelingen (SSA) DVC.
  • 2022 / In the season following the merger, SSA DVC is officially renamed DVC Dedemsvaart.
  • 2024 / Finishing in second-last place in District North’s Saturday League 3D, DVC Dedemsvaart suffers relegation into Saturday League 4, along with SV DESZ, SC Elim, FC Klazienaveen, and bottom club vv DKB. Also in 2024, the grandstand alongside the main pitch of Sportpark De Boekweit is officially renamed after longtime club volunteer Ab Wessels.
  • 2025 / Clinching the title in District East’s Saturday League 4D, 8 points ahead of closest followers vv Bergentheim, DVC Dedemsvaart manages an immediate return to Saturday League 3.
  • 2026 / Finishing in second-last place in Saturday League 3O, DVC Dedemsvaart descends into Saturday League 4 alongside FC Ommen, vv Bergentheim, and bottom club SV Zwolsche Boys.
Note – Parts of the information above have been derived from a book by Hans Heering published on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of SV Dedemsvaart: “75 jaar SVD-DVC”, ed. Repro-Gasunie: Groningen 2004.

















All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author
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Sunday, 1 November 2026

BELGIUM: RFC Ellezellois (1982-2022) / RFC Ellezelles (2022-)

Complexe Sportif d'Ellezelles - Rue de Renaix, Ellezelles = Elzele (RFC Ellezelles, formerly RFC Ellezellois)

Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen

1 XI 2026 / RFC Ellezelles - AC Le Roeulx 3-1 / Hainaut, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 6)

Timeline
  • 1969 / In Ellezelles (Elzele), a village in the Province of Hainaut on the language border with East Flanders, a football club is founded, FC Ellezellois. The initiative to establish a club is taken by a group of youth scouts. In the first months of the club’s existence, friendly matches are played on the pitch of the local primary school, L’Ecole Libre Saint-Joseph.
  • 1970 / FC Ellezellois joins the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB) with registration number 7465. With a pitch having been laid out in the hamlet of Fourquepire, to the south of Ellezelles proper, the club starts its competitive existence in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4.
  • 1982 / Moving away from their basic facilities in Fourquepire, FC Ellezellois moves into the newly laid-out municipal sports complex at Rue de Renaix, the Complexe Sportif d’Ellezelles, which comprises two pitches.
  • 1986 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4C, 3 points ahead of closest rivals AS Vaudignies and US Neufvilloise, FC Ellezellois wins promotion to Provincial League 3 for the first time.
  • 1990 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, 2 points ahead of closest followers JS Athoise and AC Anvaing, FC Ellezellois accedes to Provincial League 2 for the first time.
  • 1998 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, FC Ellezellois drops back into Provincial League 3, alongside FC Béclers and bottom club FC Allain.
  • 2000 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, FC Ellezellois descends into Provincial League 4, along with bottom club RUS Belstam.
  • 2004 / FC Ellezellois finishes as runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4A, 2 points behind champions JS Meslin-Grand Marais.
  • 2007 / FC Ellezellois finishes as joint runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B with JES Velaines, 20 points behind runaway champions RFC Molenbaix.
  • 2011 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B, 11 points behind runaway champions RUS Flobecquoise, FC Ellezellois qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against JS Meslin-Grand Marais B (3-1).
  • 2012 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B, 2 points behind champions RA Leuze-Lignette, FC Ellezellois qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out FC Ostiches B (4-6) and FC Wodecq (3-5) in the first two rounds, only to suffer defeat in the final at the hands of RUSC Anderlues B (0-3). In a lucky loser round, FC Ellezellois sees off SC Montignies B (2-5), suffering defeat in the final against WSAC Wangenies (0-1) – but in the end, due to extra promotion places being available, the club is admitted to Provincial League 3 via the backdoor.
  • 2015 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, FC Ellezellois drops back into Provincial League 4, along with bottom club JUS Maubray.
  • 2019 / In spite of finishing in a meagre tenth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4A, FC Ellezellois accedes to Provincial League 3 thanks to its B team clinching the title in Provincial League 4B, 16 points ahead of closest followers FC Rumes-La Glanerie. Also in 2019, with an indoor hall being constructed on the area of the second pitch of the Complexe Sportif d’Ellezelles, terrain 2 of the club is laid out anew several dozens of yards further southwards. Moreover, a third pitch is added to the set-up.
  • 2020 / As the club celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, FC Ellezellois acquires the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Royal Football Club (RFC) Ellezellois.
  • 2022 / RFC Ellezellois officially adapts its name to become RFC Ellezelles – although it should be pointed out that the name change was not officialised in the membership list of the Belgian FA until 2026.
  • 2023 / Finishing in fourth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, RFC Ellezelles qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out RAAL La Louvière B (1-3), only to suffer defeat in R2 against R Francs Borains B (0-0 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out). However, thanks to a lucky loser play-off against JS Solrézienne (3-0), the club accedes to Provincial League 2 via the backdoor; the ensuing defeat against RC Marcinelle (0-1) becomes immaterial, as both clubs earn an extra promotion ticket.
  • 2026 / Finishing in third place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, RFC Ellezelles qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Knocking out AS Obigies in R1 (1-3) and RUE Estinnoise in R2 (0-2), the club qualifies for the final round against FC Gerpinnes and AC Le Roeulx, managing a home win against the former (2-0) and a draw away at the latter (1-1); due to its two rivals drawing, Ellezelles finishes top of the group – but in the end, due to extra promotion places being available, all three clubs accede to Provincial League 1. In the case of RFC Ellezelles, the promotion is historic, as the club never rose to this level of the football pyramid previously. Also in 2026, terrain 2 of the Complexe Sportif d’Ellezelles is laid out anew with a synthetic surface.
Note – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-5 = non-matchday visit, July 2025 / pictures 6-20 = match visit, November 2026.




















All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author
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Saturday, 31 October 2026

NETHERLANDS: GV Bato (B) (1921-1946) / vv Upright (B) (1921-1930, 1933-1938) / WVV (B) (1921-1923) / vv Winschoten (B) (1921-1925) / SBA (B) (1921-1933) / vv OLTO (B) (1921-1922?) / GHBS (B) (1921-1922?) / vv De Adelaar (B) (1922-1923) / vv Winschoter Boys (B) (1926-1928) / NSAB Afd. Winschoten (B) (1930-1934) / SSS (B) (1931-1933) / De Raven (B) (1934-1935?) / SV Rawi (B) (1937-1959?) / SV Bato (B) (1946-1999) / CVW (B) (1946-1960) / vv Bato (B) (1999-±2018) / vv Bato (±2018-)

Gemeentelijk Sportterrein Het Sint Vitusholt “Sportpark Sint Vitusholt” terr. 2, Winschoten (main pitch of vv Bato, formerly B pitch of GV Bato / vv Upright / WVV / vv Winschoten / SBA / vv OLTO / GHBS / vv De Adelaar / vv Winschoter Boys / NSAB Afd. Winschoten / SSS / De Raven / SV Rawi / SV Bato / CVW / vv Bato) 

Netherlands, province: Groningen

31 X 2026 / vv Bato - vv Onstwedder Boys 1-3 / District North, Saturday League 4G (= NL level 9)

Timeline
  • 1883 / In Winschoten, a town in the eastern half of the Province of Groningen, a gymnastics club sees the daylight. The club is given the name Gymnastiekvereeniging (GV) Bato – Bato being a reference to Baeto, a character in a play by 17th century Dutch playwright P.C. Hooft. Baeto, legendary chief of the Batavian tribe which settled in the Netherlands around the beginning of the Common Era, was chosen as club name to evoke the (alleged) primordial strength of the Dutch. 
  • 1896 / A first football club sees the daylight in Winschoten, WVV (Winschoter Voetbalvereeniging).
  • 1910 / With various short-lived clubs having co-existed in Winschoten with WVV in the preceding years, a new club is now formed which takes on the name vv Upright. It is unclear where this club played its home matches in the first decade of its existence.
  • 1919 / A new football club is formed in Winschoten, with the club taking on the name Wit Blauw Winschoten. It is unclear where the pitch of this club in the first two years of its existence was situated. 
  • 1920 / Wit Blauw Wit Winschoten takes on the new name vv Winschoten. That same year, a football branch is added to GV Bato, with Cor Hoekstra becoming the chairman of this section of the club, which joins the Groninger Voetbalbond (GVB), the Groningen sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, later renamed KNVB). One source claims the football branch of GV Bato was formed by breakaway members of WVV. Football being included in the myriad of activities of GV Bato coincides with a veritable boom of football clubs being founded in the town of Winschoten. The year 1920 alone sees the establishment of no fewer than five other clubs; OLTO, Fortuna (renamed SBA in 1921), SDO (a club which may not have outlived 1920), HBS (renamed GHBS in 1921), and SSS (renamed The Swallows in 1921). All of these clubs join the GVB or the short-lived OGVB, Oost-Groninger Voetbalbond (which would fold in 1925). The explanation for the sudden growth in the number of clubs in Winschoten is not difficult to find; in the fall of 1920, local authorities announced their plans to lay out a municipal sports ground with football pitches and facilities for other sports in the Sint Vitusholt neighbourhood, on the southern outskirts of the town. All clubs interested to make use of the projected facilities were invited to report to the townhouse. 
  • 1921 / On May 15th, 1921, the newly laid-out Gemeentelijk Sportterrein aan de Garst (renamed Gemeentelijk Sportterrein aan het Sint Vitusholt not long after) is inaugurated in the presence of Winschoten’s mayor, H.I. Schönfeld. The sports ground comprises three football pitches laid out end to end as well as facilities for other sports. Although no specific buildings in situ are mentioned in the available sources, these mention municipal architect D. Bolhuis as the designer of the ground as a whole. Apart from two tennis clubs, the gymnastics branch of Bato, and the local scouts movement, the inaugural activities are attended by officials of no fewer than six football clubs which are due to settle at the new location: WVV, GV Bato, vv Winschoten, OLTO, Fortuna, and GHBS; strikingly, vv Upright is not mentioned in this list, although it is clear this club was one of the clubs using the facilities from their inauguration onwards – with the central of the three pitches most probably having been the ‘main’ pitch from the inauguration onwards. I suspect that the footballers of GV Bato, as well as the majority of the other clubs founded in 1920, had been formed in advance, with their activities only commencing once they were able to make use of the new football ground. The aforementioned OLTO as well as two other clubs formed in 1920, may have folded in 1921 or shortly thereafter; GHBS and The Swallows. The year 1921 also saw the foundation of a new club, Albatros, renamed De Adelaar before the end of the year. This club most probably took its place at the Gemeentelijk Sportterrein upon the start of the new season, in the summer of 1922.
  • 1923 / Unhappy with the arrangement of having to share the pitches of the Gemeentelijk Sportterrein with so many other clubs, the oldest – and slightly elitist – club in Winschoten, WVV, moves away to a newly laid-out new park elsewhere in Sint Vitusholt, across the street from the Jewish cemetery (with the entrance being situated at a street later given the name Kastanjelaan). Also in 1923, after an existence of a competitive club of no more than one season, De Adelaar folds, ceasing all activities.
  • 1925 / vv Winschoten folds following the 1924-25 season, after an existence of six years.
  • 1926 / A new football club is established, vv Winschoter Boys, which most probably settled at the Gemeentelijk Sportterrein.
  • 1928 / After an existence of barely two years, vv Winschoter Boys folds, ceasing all activities.
  • 1930 / vv Upright sees its membership of the GVB and KNVB terminated due to outstanding debts, with the club folding as a result. The year 1930 also saw a new club being founded, simply called ‘Winschoten’ – with this club joining the socialist football federation NSAB (Nederlandse Socialistische Arbeidersbond) and occasionally being referred to as NSAB Afd. (Afdeeling) Winschoten to avoid confusion with other clubs; this club settled on the Gemeentelijk Sportterrein. 
  • 1931 / A new football club sees the daylight in Winschoten, SSS, not to be confused with the eponymous club formed in 1920 and renamed The Swallows subsequently. SSS is a club with a Protestant (Evangelical) membership – and instead of seeking membership of the non-confessional GVB (KNVB), this club joins the Christian football federation CNVB (Christelijke Nederlandsche Voetbalbond). 
  • 1933 / After a gap of three years, vv Upright is re-established in January 1933, with the club taking its place at the Gemeentelijk Sportterrein. Also in 1933, after an existence of thirteen years, SBA folds, ceasing all activities, as does SSS, barely two years after its foundation.
  • 1934 / NSAB club ‘Winschoten’ (NSAB Afd. Winschoten) changes its name to become De Raven – with 1935 being the last year in which a trace of this club can be found in local media. Possibly, the only socialist football club in Winschoten folded that year or shortly thereafter.
  • 1937 / Foundation of a new football club in Winschoten, Sportvereniging (SV) Rawi, a company sports team of the local Rawi mattress and bedding factory, which takes its place at the Gemeentelijk Sportterrein. 
  • 1938 / The second incarnation of vv Upright folds, with some of its players joining SV Rawi.
  • 1946 / With GV Bato meanwhile sporting various other sections – including walking sports and handball – the club is officially renamed Sportvereniging (SV) Bato. That same year, Bato and SV Rawi are joined at Gemeentelijk Sportterrein aan het Sint Vitusholt by a newly founded club, CVW (Christelijke Voetbalclub Winschoten), a club with an integrally Protestant (Evangelical) membership dedicated to playing football on Saturdays rather than on Sundays for religious reasons. 
  • 1951 / The year 1951 marks the last trace of SV Rawi as a GVB club; this club must have abandoned the GVB in one of the following years, as we find it featuring as a club in a recreational league of corporate teams in a newspaper article in 1958. It is unclear when SV Rawi folded.
  • 1960 / After an existence of fourteen years, CVW allows itself to be absorbed into WVV, with a first team of that club taking part in the Saturday divisions of the GVB from the new season onwards in parallel with the WVV flagship team in the Sunday pyramid. The departure of CVW meant that SV Bato – with the possible exception of company team SV Rawi, which may have prolonged its existence into the 1960s – remained behind as the sole users of the Gemeentelijk Sportterrein aan het Sint Vitusholt.
  • 1999 / Sportvereniging (SV) Bato is wound up, with the three remaining branches continuing independently as GV Bato (gymnastics), WV Bato (walking sports), and vv Bato (football).
  • 2002 / A thorough renovation of Gemeentelijk Sportterrein is undertaken, involving the development of a new clubhouse, designed by architect Chiel Dijkhuis, as well as a new dressing rooms with a covered stand (much smaller than its predecessor dating back to 1936) with its whimsically-shaped construction being built on top of one of the dressing rooms.
  • 2018 / After withdrawing its first team from Sunday League 4 midway through the 2017-18 season, vv Bato returns to first team football, but not in the Sunday pyramid, as the club chooses to turn to Saturday football, starting in Saturday League 5 at the bottom of the league pyramid. Also in or around 2018, vv Bato moved its first team football to the easternmost pitch of Gemeentelijk Sportterrein aan het Sint Vitusholt, with the former main pitch remaining in use for lower team football and training sessions.
  • 2023 / Finishing in sixth place in District North’s Saturday League 5F, vv Bato qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by vv Bargeres (2-1).
  • 2026 / Champions in District North’s Saturday League 5G, 6 points ahead of closest followers vv Pekela, vv Bato wins promotion to Saturday League 4. The successful coach is Martijn Drent. In the latter stages of 2026, having fallen into disuse many years before, the covered stand alongside Terrein 1 of Gemeentelijk Sportpark aan het Sint Vitusholt, dating back to 2002, is knocked down. 
Note – Thanks to vv Bato chairman Wim Boven and club archivist Ferdy Bos for their hospitality during my visit and for their help in finding the information for the article above. Further data have been derived from a book published on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of WVV, Henk Mulder’s “Onze dierbaarste kleuren. Honderd jaar WVV, een geschiedenis in rood en zwart”, ed. WVV: Winschoten 1996.

















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