Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: SV Slikkerveer (1979-)

Sportpark Reijerpark, Ridderkerk (SV Slikkerveer)

Netherlands, province: South Holland

8 XII 2015 / SV Slikkerveer - vv Spijkenisse 0-3 / Rijnmond Cup R2

Timeline

1920 / Foundation of Bolnessche Voetbal-Vereeniging "Onze Leuze Is Voorwaarts In Overwinning" (BVV OLIVIO, or, more commonly, OLIVIO). The new club finds a pitch near Slikkerveer's water tower - therefore, the ground is usually referred to as Watertoren-Terrein.
1926 / Foundation of Slikkerveersche Voetbalvereeniging - commonly referred to by its abbreviation, SVV. SVV concludes an agreement with OLIVIO to share the latter's pitch.
1928 / SVV joins the so-called Rotterdamsche Voetbalbond (RVB), one of the local football associations organising league football below the regular divisions which are organised by the Netherlands' FA (KNVB). Due to another RVB member club already bearing the name SVV (future professional league side SVV from Schiedam), Slikkerveersche Voetbal-Vereeniging changes its name to become Voetbal-Vereeniging (vv) Slikkerveer. That same year, vv Slikkerveer inaugurates its own pitch, situated right next to OLIVIO's ground.
1931 / Winning its first title, in RVB Division 3, vv Slikkerveer accedes to RVB D2.
1933 / Clinching the title in RVB Division 1, BVV OLIVIO climbs to the ranks of KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time. The club's stay at this level is no more than ephemeral, though - as a drop back into the RVB divisions occurs in the course of the 1930s (no exact year can be given).
1936 / vv Slikkerveer wins the title in RVB Division 2, thus climbing to RVB's top division for the first time.
1941 / Winning the title in RVB Division 1, vv Slikkerveer accedes to KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time. That same summer, the club concludes a merger with BVV OLIVIO, resulting in the foundation of Sportvereniging (SV) Slikkerveer.
1944 / SV Slikkerveer clinches the title in KNVB Sunday League 4G, thus acceding to Sunday League 3. The club takes its place at that level at the start of the 1946-47 season, given that no regular league football was played in the Netherlands in the 1945-46 season.
1945 / In December 1945, several months after the liberation of the Netherlands from the German yoke, SV Slikkerveer eyes the conclusion of a new merger, but Ridderkerk's Saturday league club - and strictly protestant - RVVH refuses the overtures, as an amalgamation with a secular club is anathema to them.
1953 / In the North Sea flood of February 1953, Ridderkerk is flooded completely - as are the two pitches at SV Slikkerveer's Watertoren-Terrein.
1955 / Moving away from its Watertoren-Terrein, SV Slikkerveer settles at a new pitch situated at Veerweg. Due to the usually unsatisfactory state of the pitch, the new ground is given the nickname 'De Knollentuin' ("Potato Field").
1958 / Having had 12 seasons of League 3 football, SV Slikkerveer wins the title in KNVB Sunday League 3D under the guidance of coach Leen Pil. The club gets to enjoy two years of League 2 football before dropping back into L3 in 1960.
1962 / Coached by Janus Plaisier, SV Slikkerveer wins back-to-back promotions, successively gaining the league titles in Sunday Leagues 3D (1961) and 2B (1962), thus acceding to Sunday League 1 for the first time. That summer, the club leaves Terrein Veerweg to settle at a newly built municipal sports facility, the so-called Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk (I), which is inaugurated by Ridderkerk's mayor, C.J. van der Hoeven on September 1st. The park is shared by SV Slikkerveer with RVVH and with netball club Sagitta. The main football pitch is shared by SV Slikkerveer and RVVH's first teams. To mark the inauguration, a gala match is organised in which a combined Slikkerveer/RVVH team defeats Rotterdam professional league side Excelsior (4-2).
1963 / Constructed by volunteers of SV Slikkerveer, a covered stand of the Elascon brand (550 seats) is inaugurated at Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk. Whereas Slikkerveer's supporters do not pay an extra charge for the use of the stand, the Sunday league club charges 75 cents per head at RVVH home matches (or 5 guilders for a season ticket).
1964 / Having finished in a safe 8th place in its first season in Sunday League 1, SV Slikkerveer suffers relegation in the 1963-64 season, finishing 11th in L1B.
1966 / Following a second relegation in two years, SV Slikkerveer suddenly finds itself in League 3.
1967 / Whereas SV Slikkerveer experiences a notable lack of success on the pitch in the 1960s, groundsharing partners RVVH manages to win the 1966-67 national Saturday League title.
1970 / Following a 4-0 home win over DHZ, SV Slikkerveer clinches the title in Sunday League 3D, managing a return to League 2 after an absence of six seasons.
1971 / Slikkerveer's water tower, the scenery for BVV OLIVIO's as well as vv Slikkerveer's and SV Slikkerveer's home matches between 1920 and 1955, is demolished.
1973 / A new, single-tier clubhouse is built at the back of Sportpark Ridderkerk's main stand; the premises are used by RVVH as well as SV Slikkerveer.
1978 / Following back-to-back relegations from Sunday Leagues 2B (1977) and 3D (1978), SV Slikkerveer drops into Sunday League 4, a level at which the club last acted in 1944. Meanwhile, the decision is taken to end the groundshare at Ridderkerk's Gemeentelijk Sportpark. A new ground is constructed for SV Slikkerveer on the other side of Populierenlaan.
1979 / SV Slikkerveer wins the title in District West II's Sunday League 4G, the decisive points being obtained in an away match at vv Alexandria '66. That summer, the club moves into its newly built Sportpark Reijerpark, thus leaving RVVH as the sole users of Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk (I). The clubhouse at Sportpark Reijerpark, which is given the name 'Het Sliknest', is built by club volunteers.
1981 / Winning the L3C title, SV Slikkerveer manages a return to Sunday League 2.
1984 / A covered stand is inaugurated at Sportpark Reijerpark on September 13th, 1984.
1988 / In a decisive 0-3 away win at RV&AV Overmaas, SV Slikkerveer clinches the title in Sunday League 2B, thus acceding to Sunday League 1 after a 24-year absence.
1989 / SV Slikkerveer manages a more than respectable 5th place in Sunday League 1B, the best result in club history.
1990 / After two years in Sunday League 1, SV Slikkerveer drops back into League 2 after an insufficient 11th place finish in L1B. The following year, the club suffers a second relegation in a row, thus finding itself in L3.
1996 / Finishing second in Sunday League 3C in the regular season, SV Slikkerveer wins the promotion play-offs - the final match against CVV Zwervers (a 1-0 win) being played at RVV COAL's Sportpark Oldegaarde in Rotterdam - to find its way back to L2. The stay at this level does not last too long, though, with two relegations following in 1998 and 2000, resulting in a return to the abyss of Sunday League 4.
1999 / A new wing is added to SV Slikkerveer's clubhouse, Het Sliknest.
2002 / Under the guidance of head coach Stanley Rieborn, SV Slikkerveer clinches the title in Sunday League 4H. The decisive points are gained in the derby match at SV Bolnes (1-2).
2010 / The club celebrates its 90th anniversary at Sportpark Reijerpark with a pre-season friendly against pro side Willem II (result: 0-6).
2012 / Following ten stable years in Sunday League 3, SV Slikkerveer wins the title in L3D, winning its last match emphatically (7-2) against Transvalia ZW.
2016 / After four seasons at League 2 level, SV Slikkerveer finishes 11th in Sunday League 2D, resulting in a drop back into L3.
2017 / Winning the L3D title following a 2-0 win over its last remaining rivals, RVV AGE-GGK, SV Slikkerveer manages a new promotion to Sunday League 2. This time, the stay at that level does not last longer than one season, with relegation following in 2018.
2022 / SV Slikkerveer finishes in 3rd place in Sunday League 3B. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club reaches the final, played as one tie at a neutral venue, FC Binnenmaas' Sportpark De Lange Weide, in which the club takes on HVV Laakkwartier, resulting in a 1-0 win - and a return to League 2 level. That summer, the club leaves Sunday League football after an unbroken history of over 100 years, thus taking its place in Saturday League 2.
2023 / Finishing 13th and last in Saturday League 2F, SV Slikkerveer descends into Saturday League 3.
2024 / Runners-up in District West II's Saturday League 3C, 11 points behind champions FC Binnenmaas, SV Slikkerveer qualifies for the promotion play-offs, drawing a bye in R1, but being eliminated by DHC in R2 (1-2).

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-3 = match visit (yet not entire match), March 2023 / pictures 4-11 = match visit, December 2015. The pictures at the March 2023 visit were taken during the encounter between SV Slikkerveer and vv Hillegersberg (1-1) in Saturday League 2F; no more than 10 minutes of this match were attended in a visit that involved my ticking off RVVH's new Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk II.