Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: RKVV DOSKO

Gemeentelijk Sportpark Molenbaan, Baarle-Hertog = Baerle-Duc (RKVV DOSKO)

Belgium, province: Antwerp = Antwerpen

7 XII 2013 / RKVV DOSKO - K Kalmthout SK 2-3 / Antwerp, Provincial League 4A (= BE level 8)

Timeline

1915 / Foundation of a first football club in the double-villages of Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog; the club, which is given the name Nassau, has the benefit of hundreds of Dutch as well as Belgian soldiers being regimented in the area following the German occupation of most of the Belgian territory – but not the exclaves of Baarle-Hertog, because of the fact that these are completely surrounded by Dutch territory.
1918 / Having done very well in the three years of its existence, allegedly picking up several titles – it is unknown which ones and in which league system – Nassau folds following the end of World War I and the departure of the armed forces from the area.
1926 / Foundation of football clubs in both Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog, called Nassau and BVV (Baerlesche Voetbalvereeniging) Baerle-Hertog respectively – with the former being founded in Café Hoefnagels and finding a pitch at the back of Café Rustoord at Chaamseweg, and the latter being founded in Café Bierens and taking up activities at Terrein Tommel. Nassau became a member club of the ‘s-Hertogenbosch branch of the Netherlands’ Roman Catholic Football Association (RKF), while it is unclear to which association BVV Baerle-Hertog aligned itself in the first two years of its existence.
1927 / A third football club is formed in Baarle, Rheuthania – with this Dutch club finding a pitch at the back of Café Van Tilburg at Hoogstratenschebaan.
1928 / Two years after its foundation, BVV Baerle-Hertog joins the Belgian Football Association, being accepted as new member club under registration number 1165.
1931 / BVV Baerle-Hertog folds, ceasing all activities; registration number 1165 is erased from the Belgian FA's official lists.
1935 / BVV Baerle-Hertog is refounded, but does not seek affiliation with the Belgian FA.
1940 / Following the German occupation of the Low Countries in May 1940, all football clubs in Baarle cease their activities and fold.
1945 / After the defeat of the German armed forces in Belgium and the Netherlands, new football clubs are founded on each side of the border, RKSV Gloria (‘Gij Leden Overwint Radicaal In Alles’) in Baarle-Nassau and RKVV DOSKO (‘Door Onderlinge Samenwerking Komt Overwinning’) in Baarle-Hertog - the latter acquiring membership of Belgium's FA under registration number 4331. Founding members of RKVV DOSKO include Toon Van Loon, Jan Van Besouw, Sander Loots, and the local chaplain, Mr Fick. The new club, which settles at Terrein Tommelse Bossen, starts its life in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3C.
1947 / Moving away from Terrein Tommelse Bossen, RKVV DOSKO settles at Terrein Molenstraat – a plot of land situated on and around modern-day Hertog Hendrik I-Plein – which is partly situated on Dutch soil.
1956 / Having played at Terrein Molenstraat for the preceding nine seasons, RKVV DOSKO now moves to Terrein Café Den Bonten Os at Pastoor De Katerstraat.
1970 / Having played in Provincial League 3 for the first 25 years of its existence – with runner-up finishes in 1963 and 1967 being the best results – RKVV DOSKO now wins the first and only title in its history, thus gaining promotion from Provincial League 3B to Provincial League 2.
1973 / Finishing in last place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2C, RKVV DOSKO drops back into Provincial League 2 after three seasons.
1974 / Moving away from Terrein Café Den Bonten Os after eighteen years, RKVV DOSKO moves to the newly laid-out Gemeentelijk Sportpark Molenbaan, just a stone’s throw away from the old pitch. Strikingly, the entrance gate to the park also is right on the border between Belgium and the Netherlands, with the two pitches being situated on Belgian soil.
1975 / Finishing in last place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3C, RKVV DOSKO descends into Provincial League 4 for the first time.
1978 / Finishing in fifth place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4E, RKVV DOSKO manages a return to P3 via the promotion play-offs. The stay at this level does not last longer than one year, though, with relegation following immediately via a last place in P3D in 1979.
1980 / Finishing in third place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4D, RKVV DOSKO manages an immediate return to P3 via the promotion play-offs.
1984 / Runners-up in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3A, RKVV DOSKO manages a return to P2 after an absence of eleven years, probably after a round of promotion play-offs.
1985 / A complete renovation of Gemeentelijk Sportpark Molenbaan is undertaken, involving, among other things, the construction of the present-day clubhouse.
1987 / In the best season in club history, RKVV DOSKO finishes in sixth place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2C.
1990 / Finishing in fourteenth place in P2C, RKVV DOSKO drops back into Provincial League 3.
1992 / Bottom of the table in P3C at the end of the 1991-92 season, RKVV DOSKO descends into Provincial League 4. Also in 1992, a set of floodlights is put in place around Sportpark Molenbaan’s main pitch – with first team matches henceforth mostly being played on Saturday evenings.
1998 / Finishing in third place in P4C, RKVV DOSKO wins promotion to Provincial League 3 after a successful round of play-offs.
2000 / Finishing second-last in P3C, RKVV DOSKO drops back into Provincial League 4 after two seasons.
2001 / Finishing in third place in P4C, RKVV DOSKO wins promotion to P3 after a successful round of play-offs.
2006 / Finishing in eleventh place in P3D, RKVV DOSKO drops back into P4 with seven (!) other clubs from the same division: KFC Mol, FC Vrije Mannen Oosterlo, KVV Rauw Sport, KFC De Vrede Wechelderzande, K Sint-Dimphna FC Zammel, Minderhout VV, and bottom club VC Poederlee.
2009 / Runners-up in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4C, 14 points behind champions VC Poederlee, RKVV DOSKO fails to win promotion in the ensuing round of play-offs.
2012 / Finishing in third place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4A, RKVV DOSKO qualifies for the promotion play-offs; successively having the better of KSAV Sint-Dimpna (3-3 aggr. & away goals) and KFC Pulle (3-1 aggr.), the club wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
2013 / Finishing in fourteenth place in P3A, RKVV DOSKO drops back into P4 after just one season, along with KVNA Wortel and bottom club K Kalmthout SK.
2014 / Finishing in fourth place in P4A, 4 points behind champions K Kalmthout SK, RKVV DOSKO qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by KFC Grobbendonk (3-0 aggr.).
2015 / Runners-up in P4D, 4 points behind champions KVV Zwaluwen Olmen, RKVV DOSKO qualifies for the promotion play-offs; successively having the better of VC Mortsel Oude God (4-2 aggr.) and KFC De Vrijheid Herselt (3-2 aggr.), the club wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
2016 / Finishing in third place in P3C, RKVV DOSKO qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by KSV Aartselaar (5-2 aggr.).
2017 / Finishing in third place in P3A, RKVV DOSKO qualifies for the promotion play-offs; having the better of FC Zwaneven in R1 (3-2 aggr.), the club is eliminated in R2 by K Rochus Deurne (8-3 aggr.).
2020 / RKVV DOSKO’s chairman and main sponsor, Ad Haneveer – incidentally also a former first team player – passes away at the age of 77.
2022 / Finishing in fourteenth place in P3A, RKVV DOSKO drops back into P4 after seven seasons, along with KSK Oosthoven and bottom club FC Sint-Jozef SK.
2024 / Picking up just 10 points in the course of the season, thus finishing second-last in P4E, RKVV DOSKO has to undergo the humiliation of being eliminated from the final ranking due to having suffered three reglementary 5-0 defeats due to not enough players showing up to form a team. For the 2024-25 season, the club, in severe financial difficulties following the passing of Ad Haneveer and suffering from a serious decrease in membership, withdraws from first team football after 79 years, continuing with just youth teams.

Note 1 – Important parts of the information above were derived from RKVV DOSKO’s website, which contains an article by Leo Gladines published on the occasion of the club’s 65th anniversary in 2010.

Note 2 – Below, a compilation of photos of three different visits: picture 1 = non-matchday visit, February 2019 / pictures 2-7 = non-matchday visit, July 2024 / pictures 8-17 = match visit, December 2013.