Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: SDCP (1979-1988) / SDC Putten (1988-)

Sportpark Putter Eng, Putten (SDC Putten, formerly SDCP)

Netherlands, province: Guelders = Gelderland

11 VII 2009 / SDC Putten - PAOK Salonica 0-4 / Friendly

22 VI 2024 / SV DZC '68 - vv Flevo Boys 0-0 A.E.T. - SV DZC '68 wins penalty shoot-out (4-3) / Combined Sunday & Saturday Leagues 1 - lucky loser promotion play-off final - neutral venue (= NL level 6)

Timeline

1937 / Foundation of two football clubs in Putten, VVP (Voetbalvereniging Putten), which joins KNVB Afdeling Utrecht’s Sunday branch, and HGM (meaning acronym unknown), placed in that same association’s Saturday pyramid. VVP’s ground is situated at the back of Café Den Hartogh at Voorthuizerstraat, while HGM’s pitch could be found at Hoofdlaan (modern-day Klaarwaterboslaan).
1940 / Due to the mobilisation of the Netherlands’ army the previous year, HGM loses too many players to sustain first team football, causing the club to fold, ceasing all activities. After the German occupation, the refoundation of a Saturday club is quickly undertaken, with OMS (‘Oefening Maakt Sterk’) seeing the daylight in November 1940. Former HGM chairman J.W. Keemink is one of the founding members of the club, which settles at HGM’s former pitch at Hoofdlaan.
1949 / As local politics frowning upon any activity on Sundays not related to religion, Sunday club VVP has a hard time making ends meet; municipal authorities explicitly forbid the club to charge admission for home games, while the local police regularly shows up to take away the match ball as well. Giving in to the pressure, VVP’s board decides to switch to Afdeling Utrecht’s Saturday pyramid in 1949, resulting in the club meeting village rivals OMS in local derbies.
1952 / A merger is concluded between VVP and OMS, resulting in the foundation of Puttense Voetbal- en Atletiekvereniging ‘Sterk Door Combinatie’ (SDC), with former HGM and OMS official J.W. Keemink being elected as the club’s treasurer. At the behest of the Netherlands’ Football Association, though, the club has to adapt its name to become SDCP (Sterk Door Combinatie Putten) to distinguish it from SDC from Amsterdam, the result of a merger between SAVM and DTC in 1949. SDCP settles at OMS’s ground at Hoofdlaan; VVP’s pitch at the back of Café Den Hartogh is abandoned.
1955 / Winning promotion from Afdeling Utrecht, SDCP accedes to KNVB Saturday League 4 for the first time – a level never reached by predecessor clubs VVP, HGM, and OMS.
1957 / Clinching the title in District West I’s Saturday League 4C, 6 points ahead of closest rivals CSV De Geuzen, SDCP wins promotion to Saturday League 3 for the first time.
1961 / Clinching the title in District West I’s Saturday League 3B, 1 point ahead of closest rivals NDSM, SDCP wins promotion to Saturday League 2 for the first time.
1966 / Bottom of the table in District West I’s Saturday League 2B, SDCP drops back into League 3 after five seasons.
1969 / Bottom of the table in District West’s Saturday League 3C, 1 point behind VVOP which narrowly saves its skin, SDCP drops back into League 4 – a level at which the club last played twelve years previously.
1971 / Crowning itself champions in District West I’s Saturday League 4C following a tie-break match against vv Flora Boys, SDCP manages a return to League 3.
1976 / Finishing in joint first place in District West I’s Saturday League 3B with vv VRC, SDCP meets the club from Veenendaal in a tie-break match – going on to win the encounter, thus claiming the title and acceding to Saturday League 2.
1978 / Crowning itself champions in District West I’s Saturday League 2C following a tie-break match against SDVB, SDCP accedes to Saturday League 1 – the top division of the Saturday pyramid in those days – for the first time in club history.
1979 / Abandoning Terrein Hoofdlaan, SDCP settles at the newly laid-out Sportpark Putter Eng.
1980 / Finishing in twelfth place in Saturday League 1B, SDCP drops back into League 2 along with CVV ONS Sneek and vv Harkemase Boys.
1986 / Finishing second-last in Saturday League 2C, SDCP drops back into League 3 along with bottom club RKAV Volendam.
1988 / In an exact repeat of the events taking place twelve years previously, finishing in joint first place in District West I’s Saturday League 3B with vv VRC, SDCP meets the club from Veenendaal in a tie-break match – going on to win the encounter, thus claiming the title and acceding to Saturday League 2. Also in 1988, the club adapts its name slightly, from SDCP to SDC Putten.
1990 / Finishing second from bottom in Saturday League 2C, SDC Putten drops back into League 3 along with bottom club vv Scherpenzeel.
1991 / Finishing in tenth place in District West I’s Saturday League 3B, SDC Putten descends into League 4 following an unsuccessful round of play-offs, along with direct drop-outs vv Terschuurse Boys and vv Altius. Subsequently, in the course of the 1991-92 season, a main stand, with terracing on each side, is inaugurated at Sportpark Putter Eng.
1992 / Champions in District East’s Saturday League 4D, 2 points ahead of closest rivals vv Den Ham, SDC Putten manages a return to Saturday League 3.
1993 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Saturday League 3B, SDC Putten breaks down the door to League 2 – thus clinching its second promotion in a row – following a successful round of play-offs.
1996 / Champions in Saturday League 2C, 8 points ahead of closest followers vv Lunteren, SDC Putten wins promotion – not to Saturday League 1, but, due to a reorganisation in the Saturday pyramid, directly to Zaterdag Hoofdklasse, the newly created top level of Saturday football in the Netherlands.
1997 / In the most successful season in club history, SDC Putten finishes in fifth place in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse C.
1998 / In its second Hoofdklasse level, SDC Putten finishes in twelfth place, losing a subsequent round of relegation play-offs, thus dropping back into Saturday League 1 along with direct drop-outs vv DOS Kampen and Elburger SC.
1999 / Champions in Saturday League 1A, 1 point ahead of closest rivals SDVB, SDC Putten manages an immediate return to Zaterdag Hoofdklasse.
2000 / Finishing last in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse B, SDC Putten drops back into League 1 after just one year, along with the club in second-last place, vv Heerjansdam.
2001 / Finishing in third place in Saturday League 1A, SDC Putten manages a direct return to Zaterdag Hoofdklasse following a round of promotion play-offs.
2002 / Finishing in fifth place in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse C, SDC Putten equals the best-ever result in club history from 1997. In the opening stages of the 2002-03 season, SDC Putten meets a professional league team for the first time in the Netherlands’ Cup, suffering a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of FC Twente – and also losing the two other group stage games against Sunday teams SV Babberich and vv HSC ’21. Also in 2002, former SDC Putten youth player Sander Duits, who had joined SBV Vitesse’s youth academy as a twelve-year-old in 1995, makes his debut for BV De Graafschap’s first team, going on to have a respectable professional league career with FC Omniworld, RKC Waalwijk, and Go Ahead Eagles. Bowing out into non-league in 2017, the utility player joins his home team SDC Putten, defending the local colours for two seasons before hanging up his boots in 2019.
2003 / SDC Putten is eliminated in R1 of the Netherlands’ Cup by professional league side SC Heerenveen (0-4).
2004 / SDC Putten is eliminated in R1 of the Netherlands’ Cup by professional league side AGOVV Apeldoorn (9-2).
2006 / Bottom of the table in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse B, SDC Putten drops back into League 1 along with the club in second-last place, SV Deltasport.
2008 / Champions in Saturday League 1D, 3 points ahead of closest followers CSV Apeldoorn, SDC Putten wins promotion to Zaterdag Hoofdklasse for the umpteenth time.
2009 / Having drawn a bye in R1, SDC Putten is eliminated in R2 of the Netherlands’ Cup by SC Heerenveen (0-7).
2010 / Having drawn a bye in R1, SDC Putten successively defeats SV Argon (3-0) and DOVO (1-1 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out) in R2 and R3 of the Netherlands’ Cup, eventually suffering elimination in R4 at the hands of professional league side SC Telstar (0-2).
2012 / Bottom of the table in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse A, SDC Putten drops back into League 1 along with HCSV Zwaluwen ’30 and Voorschoten ’97.
2013 / Finishing in third place in Saturday League 1D, SDC Putten qualifies for the promotion play-offs, defeating both FC Breukelen (1-2) and vv PKC ’83 (3-1) in a group of three, thus claiming the ticket for Zaterdag Hoofdklasse.
2016 / The main pitch of Sportpark Putter Eng is equipped with a synthetic surface.
2017 / SDC Putten is eliminated in R1 of the Netherlands’ Cup at the hands of professional league side PSV (0-4).
2022 / Finishing in thirteenth place in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse B, SDC Putten has to play a set of play-offs to avoid relegation – but, having drawn a bye in R1, the club is eliminated in R2 by SV Nootdorp, thus dropping back into Saturday League 1 following a record spell of nine consecutive seasons in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse.
2023 / Finishing in fourth place in Saturday League 1A, SDC Putten qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by HSV De Zuidvogels (1-0).
2024 / Runners up in the newly created Combined Saturday & Sunday League 1G, 7 points behind CSV Apeldoorn, SDC Putten qualifies for the promotion play-offs, drawing a bye in R1, but suffering elimination in R2 at the hands of SV Valkenswaard (3-0).

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of three different visits: pictures 1-2 & 4 = non-matchday visit, May 2010 / picture 3 = match visit, July 2009 / pictures 5-26 = match visit, June 2024.