Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: SV HODO

Sportpark 't Hoge Bos, Hollandscheveld (SV HODO = Hollandscheveld Overwint Door Oefening)

Netherlands, province: Drenthe

27 V 2018 / SV HODO - vv Dalen 0-7 / District North, Sunday League 3C (= NL level 8)

Timeline

1950 / Foundation of a first football club in Hollandscheveld, a predominantly Protestant village in the Province of Drenthe. The new club, which is given the straightforward name vv Hollandscheveld, joins the Saturday divisions of Afdeling Drenthe – usually referred to by its pre-war name Drenthse Voetbalbond, DVB – the Drenthe sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (KNVB). A first pitch is laid out for the club beyond the fringes of the village (exact location unknown), with further moves being made to Terrein Achter de Schutting (modern-day Otto Zomerweg) and Terrein Kerkhoflaan (later renamed Sportpark ‘t Hoge Bos).
1961 / In spite of considerable opposition in the village – not least from vv Hollandscheveld – a Sunday club sees the daylight in Hollandscheveld, SV HODO (Sportvereniging ‘Hollandscheveld Overwint Door Oefening’), catering to the smaller non-religious community in the village. Only after some serious upheaval in local politics, the new club, which started its existence on a plot of farmland without any facilities at Krakeelsedijk, is allowed to play its home matches within the village borders, as SV HODO settles on a side-pitch of netball club VIOS at Kerkhoflaan (the future Sportpark ‘t Hoge Bos, where HODO would later groundshare with vv Hollandscheveld until 1976). With Wim de Haan being the new club’s first coach, SV HODO starts its life as a competitive club in Afdeling Drenthe Sunday Division 2.
1965 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Drenthe Sunday Division 2, SV HODO wins promotion to Division 1 of the said league system. The successful coach is Anne van de Berg.
1967 / Coached by Jan Meppeling, who had replaced Jan Eefting in the course of the season, SV HODO suffers relegation from Afdeling Drenthe Sunday Division 1 to Division 2.
1968 / A handball branch is added to the set-up at SV HODO.
1969 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Drenthe Sunday Division 2, SV HODO manages a return to Division 1 of the said league system after two years. The decisive points are obtained in a 2-0 home win over vv EEC (goals by Gerrit Benjamins & Arend Smit). The successful coach is Anne van de Berg.
1970 / Coached by Klaas Bakker, SV HODO drops back from Afdeling Drenthe Sunday Division 1 to Division 2.
1971 / With Anne van de Berg in his third and last spell as coach, SV HODO manages an immediate return from Afdeling Drenthe Sunday Division 2 to Division 1.
1973 / Finishing as runners-up in Afdeling Drenthe Sunday Division 1 behind champions vv WKE, SV HODO qualifies for a tie-break match for one additional promotion place against vv Diever, played at SV Pesse’s Sportpark De Marke. With 1,500 spectators attending, HODO edges past its opponent thanks to a sole goal by Jan Benjamins. As such, the club accedes to District North’s Sunday League 4 for the first time in club history. The successful coach is former SC Drente professional league player Henk de Groote.
1976 / SV HODO finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4H, 2 points behind champions SVBC. Meanwhile, village rivals vv Hollandscheveld abandon Sportpark ’t Hoge Bos to settle at the newly laid-out Sportpark De Oosthoek, elsewhere in Hollandscheveld. As such, SV HODO stays behind as the sole user of the park at Kerkhoflaan – that is, the sole football club using the premises, as it shares the facilities with netball club HHV.
1977 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4H, 4 points ahead of closest followers SC Zwartemeerse Boys, SV HODO wins promotion to Sunday League 3 for the first time. The decisive points are clinched in a 1-0 home win over vv Schoonebeek, with Jans Slot scoring the all-important goal. The successful coach is Ep Schonewille.
1978 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 3C, 2 points ahead of runners-up vv KSC, SV HODO wins back-to-back promotions, acceding to Sunday League 2 for the first time. The decisive points are obtained in a comprehensive away win at vv Asser Boys (0-4). The successful coach is Ep Schonewille.
1984 / SV HODO finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 2B, 2 points behind champions vv Hoogezand.
1985 / Finishing as joint runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 2B with vv Annen, 5 points behind champions vv SVBO, SV HODO gets to play a tie-break match against the club from Annen for one extra promotion place. With the encounter taking place at vv VKW’s Sportpark De Perkenslag in Westerbork, HODO suffers a 2-1 defeat, thus missing out on a historic promotion.
1987 / Finishing in joint first place in District North’s Sunday League 2B with vv Valthermond and SV Steenwijkerwold, SV HODO meets its two rivals in a tie-break competition for the title. Suffering defeat in the away match in Steenwijkerwold (2-0), SV HODO manages a home win against vv Valthermond (3-1) – but it is too little, too late, as the title and the promotion ticket go to SV Steenwijkerwold.
1989 / Coached by Jan Klaassens, SV HODO finishes in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 2B, thus dropping back to Sunday League 3 after eleven years, along with bottom club vv Annen.
1990 / SV HODO finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3C, 2 points behind champions vv Beilen.
1997 / Finishing in eighth place in District North’s Sunday League 3D, SV HODO qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Although reaching the final, the club ultimately has to leave the honours and the promotion ticket to vv Dalen. Also in 1997, with all hot-headedness about football on Sundays having subsided, vv Hollandscheveld concludes a partnership deal with village rivals SV HODO, resulting in the merger of the two clubs’ youth academies in SJO HH ’97 (Samenwerkende Jeugdopleidingen HODO-Hollandscheveld 1997).
1999 / Runaway champions in District North’s Sunday League 3A, 11 points ahead of closest followers SC Erica, SV HODO wins promotion to Sunday League 2. The decisive points are clinched in a 3-0 home win over MVV Alcides. The successful coach is Jacob Botter.
2000 / Finishing in third place in its first season back in Sunday League 2(K), SV HODO qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by vv Zwaagwesteinde (4-4 aggr. & penalty shoot-out).
2001 / Champions in Sunday League 2K, 5 points ahead of closest rivals WVV 1896, SV HODO wins promotion to Sunday League 1 – the second-highest non-league level at that time – for the first time in club history. The successful coach is Jacob Botter.
2002 / In the best season in club history, SV HODO finishes in fourth place in Sunday League 1F, with only vv Nieuw Buinen, SC Gronitas, and vv SVBO obtaining more points.
2004 / Coached by Jacob Botter, SV HODO finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 1F, thus dropping back into Sunday League 2 along with the club in second-last place, FC Wolvega.
2005 / Finishing in third-last place in Sunday League 2K, SV HODO fails to save its skin in the relegation play-offs, thus suffering back-to-back relegations and dropping back into Sunday League 3 along with DIO Oosterwolde and bottom club vv CEC. Coach Jacob Botter, who led SV HODO all the way up to Sunday League 1, leaves the club after seven seasons.
2006 / Finishing in third place in District North’s Sunday League 3D, SV HODO goes on to win the promotion play-offs, thus managing an immediate return to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is Henk Veenhof.
2009 / SV HODO finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 2L, 3 points behind champions vv Titan.
2010 / Joint runners-up in Sunday League 2L along with vv Dalen, 6 points behind champions Achilles 1894, SV HODO wins automatic promotion to Sunday League 1 thanks to the introduction of the so-called Zondag Topklasse as the new top division of the Sunday pyramid. The successful coach is André Mulder.
2011 / Finishing in third-last place in Sunday League 1F with coach André Mulder, SV HODO fails to save its skin in the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by SVC LSC 1890 (3-2 aggr.). As such, the club descends into Sunday League 2 after just one season, along with vv SVBO, LAC Frisia 1883, and bottom club vv Appingedam.
2013 / Finishing in fourth place in Sunday League 2L, SV HODO qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by vv Annen (4-1 aggr.).
2015 / Finishing in eleventh place in Sunday League 2L with coach Jan Wielink, SV HODO fails to save its skin in the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against vv ZNC (11-6 aggr.). As such, the club drops back into Sunday League 3 along with vv Zwartemeer, FC Assen, and bottom club SVV ’04.
2018 / Coached by André Blom, SV HODO finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3C, thus dropping back into Sunday League 4 along with the club in second-last place, OVC ’21. It is the first time in 41 years that the club finds itself at this lowly level.
2019 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4E, 5 points ahead of runners-up SV Pesse, SV HODO manages an immediate return to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is André Blom.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short due to the first COVID lockdown in March 2020, SV HODO finds itself bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3C after fifteen of 26 matches played. In spite of the disappointing results, the club is spare relegation thanks to the suspension of all competitions.
2022 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 3D, 8 points ahead of closest followers vv Oldeholtpade, SV HODO manages a return to Sunday League 2 after an absence of seven years at that level. The successful coach is Eric Prins. That same year, former HODO youth striker Milan Smit, who had left the club aged seven in 2010 to play for the academies of FC Emmen, SC Heerenveen, FC Twente, and SC Cambuur, makes his professional league debut for the club from Leeuwarden, going on to sign a contract with top flight side Go Ahead Eagles in 2024.
2023 / Finishing bottom of the table in Sunday League 2J with coach Eric Prins, SV HODO drops back into Sunday League 3 after just one season, along with vv Beilen, vv Drachten, and SV Pesse.
2025 / Finishing in second-last place in Sunday League 3P with coach Ed Laagland, SV HODO fails to save its skin in the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club suffers a 3-1 defeat (A.E.T.) against vv Siddeburen. As such, the club descends into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club vv Sleen.

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-2 = non-matchday visit, July 2017 / pictures 3-19 = match visit, May 2018.