Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: vv GOMOS

Sportpark Schapendrift, Norg (vv GOMOS)

Netherlands, province: Drenthe

26 III 2023 / vv GOMOS - TVC '28 1-0 / Sunday League 1E (= NL level 6)

Timeline

1935 / Foundation of football club NZC in the hamlet of Norgervaart (meaning of the acronym unclear).
1938 / Foundation of a football club in Norg proper, which is given the name VCN - the probable meaning of the acronym being Voetbalclub Norg.
1945 / A merger is concluded between NZC and VCN. The new club is given the name vv GOMOS (Voetbalvereniging 'Goede Oefening Maakt Ons Sterk' or, literally translated in English, 'Good Practice Makes Us Strong'). vv GOMOS is placed in Division 1 of Drentse Voetbalbond (DVB), the association of football clubs in the province of Drenthe playing below the regular League 4 level, organised by the Netherlands' Football Association (KNVB). Club sources confirm that vv GOMOS's first pitch, which probably also was the pitch of VCN in the seven preceding years, was situated on roughly the same plot of land as the club's current Sportpark Schapendrift.
1946 / In its first season, vv GOMOS wins promotion from DVB Division 1, thus acceding to KNVB (Sunday) League 4 for the first time.
1948 / Winning the title in KNVB District North's League 4B, vv GOMOS wins promotion to League 3, holding its own for two seasons before dropping back into L4 in 1950.
1964 / A first clubhouse with dressing rooms built in stone is inaugurated at vv GOMOS's ground. That same year, having played in Sunday League 4 for 14 consecutive seasons, vv GOMOS is relegated back into DVB Division 1 following a 10th place finish in L4C. It takes the club two seasons to return to League 4.
1970 / Having played at L4 level for the past four seasons, vv GOMOS wins the title in KNVB District North's League 4D, thus acceding to L3.
1975 / Finishing in joint-first place in Sunday League 3B with an equal number of points as vv Roden, vv GOMOS has to play a play-off match against their derby rivals on the pitch of vv Peize. This match is lost 1-0, resulting in the club missing out on a first-ever promotion to L2.
1980 / Finishing 11th in Sunday League 3B, vv GOMOS drops back into L4 following ten consecutive seasons at League 3 level.
1983 / Winning the title in KNVB District North's Sunday League 4D, the club manages a return to L3 after a three-year absence.
1987 / Following back-to-back relegations, vv GOMOS suddenly finds itself in DVB Division 1 after an absence of 21 years at that lowly level.
1990 / Finish in second place in DVB Division 1, vv GOMOS finds its way back to the regular KNVB leagues. That same year, a new clubhouse and dressing rooms are inaugurated at Sportpark Schapendrift.
1993 / vv GOMOS clinches the title in District North's Sunday League 4C, thus managing a return to L3.
1995 / Having narrowly missed out on the title the previous season, the club now finishes in first place in League 3B, thus acceding to Sunday League 2 for the first time in club history. In its first season in L2B, the club manages a more than respectable 4th place.
1998 / After three seasons at L2 level, vv GOMOS drops back into Sunday League 3.
2000 / Finishing in joint-first place in Sunday League 3B with vv Zuidhorn, the two clubs play a single-match play-off at vv VAKO's Terrein Veltenburgerdijk. Winning the encounter emphatically (5-0), vv GOMOS wins promotion to League 2. In the following years, the club proves to have more staying power at this level than during its previous spell in the 1990s, even finishing in second place in L2K in 2004.
2007 / Having played in Sunday League 2 for seven years, vv GOMOS suffers relegation to L3 following a 12th place in L2L.
2011 / Guided by head coach Bernd van Bolhuis, vv GOMOS finishes in 3rd place in Sunday League 3B, subsequently winning the promotion play-offs to return to L2.
2013 / Following back-to-back relegations, vv GOMOS finds itself in League 4 for the first time in 20 seasons.
2015 / Managing a fourth place in Sunday League 4B with head coach Ab Rutten, vv GOMOS qualifies for the play-offs, in which it wins promotion after beating L3 team vv Jubbega in the final (2-4 away, 4-1 at home in a match attended by some 400 spectators).
2016 / After a relatively good season in Sunday League 3B, resulting in a third place, vv GOMOS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is defeated by SV Olyphia (1-2).
2018 / Winning two league titles in a row (in L3B in 2017 and in L2K in 2018) with its head coach Wim Bakering, vv GOMOS is the first club ever in the municipality of Noordenveld to accede to Sunday League 1.
2019 / In its first season in Sunday League 1F, vv GOMOS finishes 4th - also qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which it is defeated in R1 by vv VKW (3-0). That same year, netball club DES, who were groundsharers at Sportpark Schapendrift, folds, ceasing all activities, while GOMOS's pitch 2 is equipped with a synthetic surface. Successful coach Wim Bakering leaves the club and is succeeded by Martin Drent, former professional league player at FC Groningen, BV Veendam, and SBV Emmen.
2022 / The club qualifies for the promotion play-offs in L1, but stumbles over the first hurdle by suffering a 2-0 defeat in Norg at the hands of SC Bemmel.
2023 / Finishing 12th in Sunday League 1E, vv GOMOS is relegated back into L2 after 4 years, taking with it bottom club CVV Germanicus, vv Rolder Boys, and derby rivals vv Roden.