NETHERLANDS: vv Bladella

Sportpark De Smagtenbocht, Bladel (vv Bladella)

Netherlands, province: North Brabant

16 VI 2022 / vv Bladella - vv Hoogeloon 0-3 / District South I, Sunday League 3 - promotion play-off semi (= NL level 8)

Note: In the years just prior to World War I, two football clubs saw the daylight in Bladel: B.V.V. (Bladelsche Voetbalvereeniging, 1910) and W.D.B. (Weg Dien Bal, 1913), with B.V.V. initially playing at 't Heike (1910-14) and subsequently at Den Bult (1914-19) and W.D.B. at Zwartakkers, just a stone's throw to the north of B.V.V.'s first ground. In 1919, both clubs merged, becoming Rooms-Katholieke Voetbalvereniging (RKVV) Bladella. At Bladella's foundation, a new ground was inaugurated as well, Het Muggenhool (at Tootsberg), where the club was home for fourteen years (1919-33). Subsequently, RKVV Bladella - almost universally referred to as vv Bladella - played its football at a ground situated at Varkensmarkt, just behind Willeke Fiers' farm (1933-46) and the newly built Gemeentelijk Sportpark, Marktstraat (later renamed Sportparkstraat) in Bladel's town centre (1946-64). Finally, in 1964, the club moved into its current home, Sportpark De Smagtenbocht, which was adorned with a covered stand in the year following its inauguration. While the impressive and nostalgic little stadium might suggest the club has a glorious past to look back on, vv Bladella usually played a rather modest role in non-league, never rising to a higher level than Sunday League 2.

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