NETHERLANDS: AV&AC Eendracht (1964-2014) / vv Eendracht Arnhem (2014-)

Sportpark 'Over het Lange Water' West, Arnhem (vv Eendracht Arnhem, formerly AV&AC Eendracht)

Netherlands, province: Guelders = Gelderland

6 XII 2015 / vv Eendracht Arnhem - OSC (O) 2-2 / District East, Sunday League 4F (= NL level 8)

Timeline

• 1916 / Foundation of a football club in Arnhem, which takes on the name Arnhemsche Voetbal- en Athletiekclub (AV&AC) Eendracht. Joining the so-called Arnhemsche Voetbalbond, the Arnhem sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association, the club settles on a pitch laid out at the crossroads of Schelmscheweg and Apeldoornscheweg in the north of the city.
• ± 1919 / Moving away from Terrein Schelmscheweg, AV&AC Eendracht settles on a newly laid-out pitch in the so-called Platte Stuk area to the north of Park Sonsbeek in Arnhem. Around this time, a larger sports facility is laid out in this area, on the northern outskirts of Arnhem, with various football clubs settling here around the same time or in the following years, including – among others – AV Wilhelmina (AVW), AV&AC Hertog Hendrik (HH), RKVV Swift, and vv Arnhemsche Boys, each having its own pitch in the park, initially referred to locally as the Volkssportpark or Gemeentelijk Sportpark, but later officially renamed Sportpark ‘t Cranevelt. 
• 1964 / Having been a solid performer in District East’s Sunday Leagues 2 & 3 in the preceding decades, AV&AC Eendracht now descends into Sunday League 4 for the first time. Having played at Sportpark ‘t Cranevelt for over forty years – notably on modern-day Pitch/Veld 8, with its wooden stand, designed by an Eendracht board member in 1923 – the club now moves away to Sportpark Over het Lange Water (West) in Presikhaaf, a neighbourhood in the east of Arnhem. 
• 1965 / Finishing in joint first place in District East’s Sunday League 4F, with an equal number of points as vv Opheusden, AV&AC Eendracht goes on to defeat their rivals in a tie-break match, thus gaining promotion to Sunday League 3. 
• 1967 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 3D, AV&AC Eendracht drops back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club SCD ’33.
• 1970 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4F, 3 points ahead of closest followers SV Excelsior (Zetten), AV&AC Eendracht manages a return to Sunday League 3 after an absence of three years.
• 1971 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3D, AV&AC Eendracht descends back into Sunday League 4 after just one season, along with the club in second-last place, CHRC.
• 1972 / A terrace is erected alongside the southern touchline of the main pitch of Sportpark Over het Lange Water (West), with the middle part of it being covered. 
• 1973 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4D, AV&AC Eendracht descends into the ranks of Afdeling Arnhem (the former Arnhemsche Voetbalbond) alongside the club in second-last place, SC EDS.
• 1979 / After a spell of six years in the ranks of Afdeling Arnhem, AV&AC Eendracht now manages a return to Sunday League 4. 
• 1990 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4D, AV&AC Eendracht is yet again retrograded into the ranks of Afdeling Arnhem, along with the club in second-last place, vv Velpse Boys.
• 1995 / After a spell of five years in the ranks of Afdeling Arnhem, AV&AC Eendracht now manages a return to Sunday League 4.
• 1996 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 4F, AV&AC Eendracht now descends into Sunday League 5 – the successor of the top division of Afdeling Arnhem – along with bottom club CHRC.
• 1999 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 5D, AV&AC Eendracht goes on to win promotion to Sunday League 4 via the ensuing play-off rounds.
• 2003 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4F with coach Pim Scholten, AV&AC Eendracht drops back into Sunday League 5 along with the club in second last place, RKVV RODA ’28.
• 2005 / Finishing in fifth place in District East’s Sunday League 5F, AV&AC Eendracht goes on to win the promotion play-offs, thus winning promotion to Sunday League 4. The successful coach is Rob Teering, who took over from Herman van Amersvoort in the course of the season.
• 2006 / Coached by Rob Teering, AV&AC Eendracht finishes bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4F, thus being retrograded into Sunday League 5 after just one season.
• 2008 / Finishing in seventh place in District East’s Sunday League 5F, AV&AC Eendracht wins the promotion play-offs, thus gaining promotion to Sunday League 4. The successful coach still is Rob Teering.
• 2010 / Coached by Rini Kromdijk, AV&AC Eendracht finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 4F, thus descending back into Sunday League 5, alongside bottom club vv Edesche Boys.
• 2011 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 5D, AV&AC Eendracht suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into Sunday League 6 for the first time in club history, along with bottom club vv Baakse Boys. However, following the 2010-11 season, the board of Eendracht takes the decision to withdraw from first team football for the time being.
• 2012 / After a one-year break, AV&AC Eendracht returns to first team football in Sunday League 6.
• 2013 / In spite of finishing in a modest eighth place in District East’s Sunday League 6C, AV&AC Eendracht is placed in Sunday League 5 for the new season due to Sunday League 6 being abolished. In mid-2013, Marlon Keizer, former professional league midfielder at SBV Vitesse and NEC (1988-91), takes over the role of head coach at Eendracht. 
• 2014 / The name of AV&AC Eendracht is officially changed to vv Eendracht Arnhem.
• 2015 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 5F, 4 points ahead of closest followers SC Elistha, vv Eendracht Arnhem wins promotion to Sunday League 4. The successful coach is Marlon Keizer.
• 2017 / Marlon Keizer leaves vv Eendracht Arnhem after a spell of four years as head coach.
• 2019 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4D with coach Vincent Selhorst, vv Eendracht Arnhem drops back into Sunday League 5 along with SC Veluwezoom and bottom club RKPSC.
• 2022 / Finishing in fourth place in District East’s Sunday League 5C, vv Eendracht Arnhem qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club edges past vv Voorst in R1 (3-4), only to be knocked out by SC EDS in the final, played at Sportpark Oranjesingel in Doesburg (3-0).

Note - Photo 1 dates back to a non-matchday visit in February 2015; photos 3-4, 9 & 13 courtesy of Anneke te Boekhorst.

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