Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: LAC Frisia 1883 (1968-)

Sportpark De Magere Weide, Leeuwarden (LAC Frisia 1883)

Netherlands, province: Frisia = Friesland

20 III 2019 / LAC Frisia 1883 - CVV Oranje Nassau 1918 2-2 - Frisia won penalty shoot-out (5-4) / District North, Regional Cup - last 16

Timeline

1883 / At the initiative of Baron Van Harinxma thoe Slooten, future Governor of the Province of Frisia, a cricket club sees the daylight in Leeuwarden, the capital of the northern province. The new club, which is given the name Cricketclub (CC) Frisia, settles on a pitch laid out in the Achter de Hoven neighbourhood, to the southeast of the town-centre.
1894 / As football is added to the myriad of activities, the club changes its name to become Cricket & Football Club (C&FC) Frisia. That same year, C&FC Frisia is the first club from the northern provinces to join the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, renamed KNVB in 1929) – in fact, the sixth club in the NL as a whole to be accepted as new member club.
1895 / C&FC Frisia takes part in the first-ever NVB competition to be held in District North, with only two other clubs taking part in the (Sunday) League 2 competition – no League 1 would be added to the pyramid until over twenty years later: GGCC Be Quick and vv Achilles. That same year, Frisia’s cricket branch ceases its activities, as the membership prefers to focus solely on football.
1896 / Now that cricket is no longer part of the club’s activities, C&FC Frisia’s board takes the decision to adapt the club name to Leeuwarder Athletische Club (LAC) Frisia.
1904 / LAC Frisia clinches its first title, with the team crowning themselves ‘Champions of the North’ by finishing in first place in District North’s League 2, 1 point ahead of closest rivals HVV Quick (Kampen). Also in 1904, LAC Frisia absorbs two smaller local clubs, Ajax and IP (Instituut Poutsma) – the latter having been founded in 1900.
1905 / Moving away from Terrein Achter de Hoven, LAC Frisia settles on a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein Wilhelminabaan.
1907 / Jan van Beek, a football player who had just made his debut in the Netherlands’ national team, joins LAC Frisia from HVV Quick (Kampen). Van Beek stays with LAC Frisia for two seasons, moving to the Dutch East Indies in 1909.
1908 / Champions in District North’s League 2 following a tie-break match against WVV, LAC Frisia crown themselves ‘Champions of the North’ for a second time. That same year, the club also entertains foreign opposition for the first time, defeating Bremer FC Lloyd 2-1 at Terrein Wilhelminabaan.
1909 / Champions in District North’s League 2 for the second year in a row, this time finishing 3 points ahead of runners-up WVV, LAC Frisia are ‘Champions of the North’ for the third time.
1911 / Champions in District North’s League 2 following a tie-break match against vv Achilles, LAC Frisia crown themselves ‘Champions of the North’ for the fourth time.
1912 / LAC Frisia absorbs a smaller local club, Voorwaarts.
1913 / LAC Frisia purchases the old wooden stand from HFC in Haarlem, re-erecting the construction at its pitch at Wilhelminabaan.
1916 / As a League 1 is finally put in place as top division in District North, LAC Frisia is one of the clubs acceding to this new competition.
1917 / As a new club sees the daylight in Leeuwarden, the distinctly working-class vv Leeuwarden, LAC Frisia borrows footballs and other equipment to the membership of the new club. With several other clubs also having been founded in Leeuwarden, LAC Frisia remains a segregated club for the local elite.
1920 / Finishing in last place in District North’s League 1, LAC Frisia only avoids the drop following a vote among the other clubs in the division.
1921 / LAC Frisia adapts its name to become LAC Frisia 1883. In November 1921, the wooden grandstand, erected at Terrein Wilhelminabaan eight years previously, is razed to the ground in a storm.
1925 / In the most successful season in club history, LAC Frisia 1883 clinches the title in District North’s League 1 following a tie-break match against GVV Be Quick. Taking on the League 1 champions of the other districts in a title competition, LAC Frisia 1883 is unable to cope with the level of play in the other parts of the Netherlands, finishing in last position, just picking up one single point from the home match against eventual champions HBS (District West I). The other clubs taking part in this competition were NAC (South), RV&AV Sparta (West II), and DVV Go-Ahead (East).
1928 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s League 1, LAC Frisia 1883 suffers its first-ever relegation, descending into League 2.
1929 / Champions in District North’s League 2A, 3 points ahead of vv Sneek, LAC Frisia 1883 goes on to win a championship competition, thus reclaiming its place in League 1.
1935 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s League 1, LAC Frisia 1883 drops back into League 2 after six seasons.
1936 / Moving away from Terrein Wilhelminabaan after 31 years, LAC Frisia 1883 settles at the newly laid-out Gemeentelijk Sportpark Cambuur (renamed Cambuurstadion in 1949) along with vv Leeuwarden.
1942 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 2A, 2 points ahead of vv Helpman, LAC Frisia 1883 fails to win promotion in the championship play-offs.
1943 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 2A, 4 points ahead of LVV Friesland, LAC Frisia 1883 does not get the opportunity to fight for promotion following a decision by the Netherlands’ FA to postpone the title play-offs to the following year due to the ongoing – and ever-more harsh – German occupation of the Netherlands.
1944 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 2A, 3 points ahead of LVV Friesland, LAC Frisia 1883 goes on to win the title play-offs against vv Emmen, thus managing a return to Sunday League 1 after an absence of nine years – although it has to be pointed out that the club can only reclaim its place in 1945 due to the 1944-45 season not being held due to the harsh conditions in the northern half of the Netherlands in the last year of German occupation.
1953 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 1A, LAC Frisia 1883 drops back into Sunday League 2.
1954 / Whilst groundsharers vv Leeuwarden chooses to join the newly formed professional league pyramid – as one of only two clubs from Frisia, the other being vv Heerenveen – LAC Frisia 1883 refuses to relinquish its amateur status, thus remaining behind in what is ‘non-league’ from this point onwards.
1958 / LAC Frisia 1883 celebrates its 75th anniversary with a gala match against a team of former Netherlands’ international players at the Cambuurstadion (1-2).
1959 / Following a decision by Leeuwarden’s municipal authorities to only allow professional league side vv Leeuwarden to play in the Cambuurstadion, LAC Frisia 1883 is exiled to the Gemeentelijk Sportpark’s side-pitches, situated to the east of the stadium proper.
1961 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 2A, LAC Frisia 1883 drops back into Sunday League 3 for the first time in club history.
1963 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 3A, 8 points ahead of runners-up GAVC, LAC Frisia 1883 manages to climb back to Sunday League 2 after an absence of two years at that level.
1966 / LAC Frisia 1883 finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 2A, 13 points behind runaway champions vv Jubbega.
1968 / Having played its football on the side-pitches of Gemeentelijk Sportpark Cambuur for the past seven seasons, LAC Frisia 1883 now moves into a newly laid-out ground in the north of Leeuwarden, Sportpark De Magere Weide.
1969 / Coached by Ton Dreijer, LAC Frisia 1883 finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 2A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 3 along with the club finishing second from bottom, SC Gronitas.
1971 / Still coached by Ton Dreijer, LAC Frisia 1883 finishes in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 3A, thus suffering relegation to Sunday League 4 for the first time in club history, along with bottom side vv CAB.
1972 / Runaway champions in District North’s Sunday League 4A, 13 points ahead of closest followers vv Bergum, LAC Frisia 1883 manages an immediate return to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Hedzer van Zwol.
1973 / Replacing temporary facilities which had been put in place at the opening of the ground five years previously, a new clubhouse is now inaugurated at Sportpark De Magere Weide. As the membership grows steadily in the course of the 1970s, the facilities are further extended in 1978.
1976 / Coached by Piet IJsbrandy, LAC Frisia 1883 finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 4 alongside the club finishing in second-last place, vv RES.
1977 / LAC Frisia 1883 finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4C, 2 points behind champions vv TFS.
1978 / LAC Frisia 1883 finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4C, 2 points behind champions vv Oosterwolde.
1979 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4C, 6 points ahead of runners-up SC Joure, LAC Frisia 1883 wins promotion to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Joop de Jong.
1981 / Coached by Joop de Jong, LAC Frisia 1883 finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3A, thus dropping back into League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, Wit Zwart Sneek.
1982 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4A, 6 points ahead of runners-up vv Sint-Annaparochie, LAC Frisia 1883 wins promotion to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Meine Boerstra. Also in 1982, the new Provincial Governor of Frisia, prominent liberal politician Hans Wiegel, becomes patron of LAC Frisia 1883, staying on in that capacity all through his thirteen-year governorship.
1983 / As LAC Frisia 1883 celebrates its centenary anniversary, the occasion is marked with several activities, one of which being a wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of the club’s founder, Baron Van Harinxma thoe Slooten, in Beetsterzwaag.
1984 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 3A, 3 points ahead of runners-up vv Nicator, LAC Frisia 1883 wins promotion to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is Meine Boerstra.
1987 / Coached by Kor de Jong, LAC Frisia 1883 finishes in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 2A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 3 along with bottom club vv Roden.
1988 / LAC Frisia 1883 finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3A, 4 points behind champions FC Wolvega.
1990 / Runaway champions in District North’s Sunday League 3A, 10 points ahead of runners-up vv Nicator, LAC Frisia 1883 wins promotion to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is Meine Boerstra, who had come back to the club for a second spell as trainer.
1993 / Coached by Wieb Rodenhuis, LAC Frisia 1883 finishes in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 2A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 3 along with bottom club Cambuur-Leeuwarden AV. That same year, a new covered stand is inaugurated at Sportpark De Magere Weide – the same stand gracing the main pitch until the present day.
1995 / Memorialising the 100th anniversary of regular league football in District North, LAC Frisia 1883 plays a gala match against GSV Be Quick – in fact a re-enactment of the first-ever league match to be played in District North in 1895.
1997 / LAC Frisia 1883 finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3C, 1 point behind champions MSC, failing to win promotion in the subsequent round of promotion play-offs.
1998 / Runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3A, 1 point behind champions vv Nicator, LAC Frisia 1883 succeeds in winning the promotion play-offs, thus acceding to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is Gerry de Jonge.
2002 / Finishing in joint ninth place in Sunday League 2L, LAC Frisia 1883 saves its skin at this level after defeating vv Lemmer in a tie-break match.
2005 / Finishing in joint ninth place in Sunday League 2L, LAC Frisia 1883 saves its skin at this level after defeating Velocitas 1897 in a tie-break match. That same year, Marciano Kasijo scores the 4,000th goal in the history of LAC Frisia 1883.
2006 / Former Frisia youth academy striker, eighteen-year-old Iranian asylum seeker Reza Ghoochannejhad, makes his professional league debut with SC Heerenveen. Ghoochannejhad goes on to have an adventurous career, playing for Go Ahead Eagles, FC Emmen, SC Cambuur, K Sint-Truidense VV, R Standard de Liège, Charlton Athletic FC, Kuwait SC, Al-Wakrah SC, APOEL FC, Sydney FC, eventually hanging up his boots in 2021 following a spell at PEC Zwolle. Ghoochannejhad also won 43 caps for his native Iran (17 goals), taking part in the 2018 World Cup as an unused sub.
2007 / Finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 2L, LAC Frisia 1883, coached by Freddy Strating, fails to hold its own in the promotion-relegation play-offs, suffering a decisive defeat against vv Steenwijk. As such, the club falls back into League 3 along with direct drop-outs GSAVV Forward and vv GOMOS. Also in 2007, the inauguration takes place of a new set of dressing rooms at the back of the covered stand at Sportpark De Magere Weide.
2008 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 3A, 6 points ahead of runners-up SC Franeker, LAC Frisia 1883 manages an immediate return to Sunday League 2. The decisive points are clinched in an encounter with vv Harkema-Opeinde. The successful coach is Mark Bosma. That same year, a completely renovated clubhouse at Sportpark De Magere Weide is inaugurated by former Frisia chairman and honorary club member Wessel van Zuilen.
2009 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2K, LAC Frisia 1883 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club suffers defeat at the hands of SV HODO in the final.
2010 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2K, LAC Frisia 1883 qualifies for the play-offs for the second year running. Following wins over vv Noordster (4-4 aggr. & penalty shoot-out) and vv Emmen AV (3-1 aggr.) in the first two rounds, the club goes on to defeat FC Wolvega in the final (1-0, goal by Douwe Dijkstra). As a result, LAC Frisia 1883 manages a return to Sunday League 1 after an absence of 57 years at that level. The successful coach is Mark Bosma.
2011 / Coached by Douwe Zondervan, LAC Frisia 1883 finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 1F, thus dropping back into Sunday League 2 along with vv SVBO, SV HODO, and bottom club vv Appingedam. That same year, former Frisia youth academy player Steven Berghuis, son of former Cambuur-Leeuwarden winger Frank Berghuis, makes his debut as a professional league player at the age of nineteen with FC Twente. In the remainder of his career, Steven Berghuis goes on to defend the colours of VVV-Venlo, AZ, Watford FC, Feyenoord Rotterdam, and AFC Ajax, while also winning 46 caps for the Netherlands national team.
2012 / Finishing in fourth place in Sunday League 2K, LAC Frisia 1883 qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club knocks out vv Dalen in R1 (6-1 aggr.), going on to defeat vv Hoogezand in the final (2-1). As such, the club, coached by Jaap de Jong, manages a return to Sunday League 1. Also in 2012, former Frisia youth academy midfielder Mark Diemers makes his professional league debut at SC Cambuur. Diemers goes on to represent FC Utrecht, BV De Graafschap, Fortuna Sittard, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Hannover 96, FC Emmen, and AEK Larnaca before returning to SC Cambuur in 2024.
2013 / LAC Frisia 1883 finishes in sixth place in Sunday League 1F, the best league finish in over sixty years.
2014 / Coached by Jaap de Jong, LAC Frisia 1883 finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 1F, dropping back into League 2 after two seasons, along with vv GRC Groningen, FC Wolvega, and vv Heerenveen AV.
2016 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2K, LAC Frisia 1883 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club successively has the better of vv Noordster (3-2 aggr.) and TEVV (9-2 aggr.). As such, the club, coached by Johan Groote, retraces its steps for a third spell in Sunday League 1 in the scope of a decade.
2017 / Finishing in eleventh place in Sunday League 1F, LAC Frisia 1883 has to save its skin at that level in the promotion-relegation play-offs, eventually succeeding to do so following successive defeats of vv DTD (6-2 aggr.) and vv Roden (6-4 aggr.). That same year, the main pitch at Sportpark De Magere Weide is laid out as a 3G. Also in 2017, former Frisia youth academy defender Kik Pierie makes his professional league debut at SC Heerenveen, going on to have spells at AFC Ajax, FC Twente, and SBV Excelsior in subsequent years.
2018 / Finishing in twelfth place in Sunday League 1F with coach Jaap de Jong, LAC Frisia 1883 has to avoid relegation in a set of play-offs. Edging past vv Oerterp in R1 (5-5 & penalty shoot-out), the club is eliminated in R2 by SC Stadspark (4-1 A.E.T.). As such, LAC Frisia drops back into Sunday League 2.
2019 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2K, LAC Frisia 1883 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by SC Stadspark (5-1).
2022 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2K, LAC Frisia 1883 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by FVC (4-0). That summer, after a tradition in Sunday football which reaches back over 120 years, LAC Frisia 1883 makes the step to first team football in the Saturday league pyramid, with the club being seeded in Saturday League 2K.
2023 / Finishing in tenth place in Saturday League 2K, LAC Frisia 1883 has to save its skin in a set of promotion-relegation play-offs. Drawing a bye in R1, the club goes on to knock out vv ONT in R2 (3-1), but is eliminated in the semis by vv Hardegarijp (1-3). As such, LAC Frisia 1883 is retrograded to Saturday League 3 along with direct drop-outs vv Workum and SC Joure, as well as play-off victims vv Balk and vv Hardegarijp.
2024 / Runaway champions in District North’s Saturday League 3B, 16 points ahead of closest followers vv Hardegarijp, LAC Frisia 1883 wins promotion to Saturday League 2.