Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: vv Legmeervogels

Sportpark De Randhoorn, Uithoorn (vv Legmeervogels)

Netherlands, province: North Holland = Noord-Holland

30 V 2023 / vv Legmeervogels - SV DWO 3-0 / District West II, Saturday Leagues 2 & 3 - promotion-relegation play-off (= NL levels 7 & 8)

Timeline

1931 / Foundation of a football club in Uithoorn, called Sperwer or De Sperwers. Applying for membership of the so-called Amsterdamsche Voetbalbond (AVB), a league association of clubs from the wider Amsterdam region playing their football below League 4 of the regular Netherlands' FA (KNVB), it turns out this club name had already been taken - upon which another name was chosen, vv Uithoorn (usually abbreviated to simply VVU). With training sessions taking place in Uithoorn, initially at Terrein Molenkade, at the back of the Cindu factory, and later at Terrein Thamerlaan, the club has to play its home matches at Terrein Machineweg in nearby Aalsmeer - probably due to the fact that neither of the two pitches in Uithoorn had the correct dimensions for official matches.
1932 / Foundation of a 2nd football club in Uithoorn, RKSV VDO (Rooms-Katholieke Sportvereeniging 'Volharding Doet Overwinnen'), which comprises a handball branch as well. Startings its life at Terrein Van Dijklaan, renting the location from a netball club, Christelijke Korfbalclub 'Oranje Wit', the club moves on to another ground, Terrein Ringdijk, at the back of a farm also situated in Amstelhoek, later that same year. Notably, Amstelhoek is a village just across North Holland's provincial border in Utrecht. Thus, neither VVU nor RKSV VDO play their football in Uithoorn proper.
1933 / Moving away from Terrein Ringdijk, RKSV VDO finds itself a location in Uithoorn proper, a pitch at the back of Hotel De Rijk at Marktplein in the village centre.
1937 / Abandoning Terrein De Rijk, RKSV VDO moves to Terrein Boterdijk, destined to remain at that location for the following 25 years.
1942 / Winning the title in AVB Sunday Division 2, VVU accedes to AVB Division 1.
1946 / VVU finishes in 1st place in AVB Division 1, but does not succeed to win promotion in the ensuing round of play-offs.
1947 / Finishing in 1st place in AVB Division 1 yet again, VVU accedes to KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time.
1948 / Abandoning Terrein Machineweg, home from its foundation onwards, VVU settles at the so-called Thamer-Sportpark in Uithoorn proper.
1950 / Winning the title in AVB Division 1, RKSV VDO accedes to KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time. Unfortunately, the results of VDO as well as VVU before the merger of the two clubs in 1995 has been poorly documented, with very little information being available in open sources. Hence, not much information about the 1931-95 era can be shared on this page.
1962 / Inauguration of a new, municipal sports park in Uithoorn, named Burgemeester Koot-Sportpark. The football pitches - as well as the main pitch, adorned with a covered stand - are shared by VVU and RKSV VDO.
1970 / In District West I's Sunday League 1, VVU - always the more ambitious of the two clubs from Uithoorn - clinches the title. In the ensuing round of play-offs against the winners of the Sunday champions of the other 5 districts (vv Papendrecht in West II, TSC in South I, vv Sanderbout in South II, SV De Treffers in East, and vv Sneek in North), VVU finishes as runners-up behind vv Sneek.
1995 / A merger is concluded between VVU and RKSV VDO, resulting in the foundation of vv Legmeervogels.
1996 / In a very successful 1st year, both of vv Legmeervogels' first teams win promotion to a higher level, with the Sunday team finishing in 3rd place in League 3C, acceding to League 2 via the play-offs; and the Saturday team acceding to Saturday League 4 from AVB Division 1. In the first 25 years following the merger, Saturday league football remains a side-show at the club, with the regular Saturday team even being withdrawn for 2 seasons (1997-99).
1998 / Having suffered back-to-back relegations, vv Legmeervogels' Sunday team finds itself in Sunday League 4. In the 15 following seasons, the team altenates spells in League 4 (1998-2000 & 2003-05) and League 3 (2000-03, 2005-13), winning League 4 titles in 2000 & 2005. Also in 1998, abandoning the Burgemeester Koot-Sportpark, vv Legmeervogels moves into the newly built Sportpark De Randhoorn, where it has 6 pitches at its disposal - as well as a large covered stand along the main pitch.
2012 / Winning the title in Saturday League 4C, vv Legmeervogels' Saturday squad accedes to Saturday League 3. The team's stay at that level remains limited to just 1 season, with relegation duly following in 2013.
2013 / Finishing 3rd in District West I's Sunday League 3D behind AFC Quick 1890 and SV Nieuw Utrecht, vv Legmeervogels qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Having failed to win the League 3 play-offs on 8 (!) previous occasions, the club is more fortunate now, successively defeating vv Zwanenburg and BVC Bloemendaal to accede to Sunday League 2. The coach guiding the club to this success is Stefan Teeken.
2015 / vv Legmeervogels withdraws its Saturday team from regular league football.
2016 / Winning the title in Sunday League 2B, with closest followers USV Elinkwijk 20 points below, vv Legmeervogels accedes to Sunday League 1.
2018 / In its best season since the 1995 merger, vv Legmeervogels finishes in 3rd place in Sunday League 1A behind SV Fortuna Wormerveer and RKVV DEM.
2020 / After a 5-year absence, vv Legmeervogels returns with a regular Saturday team at the bottom of the pyramid, in League 4.
2022 / With only SV ROAC picking up fewer points, vv Legmeervogels finishes second-last in Sunday League 1A, thus suffering relegation back into League 2. However, the club's board took the decision to withdraw its Sunday team, given that, in 2022, for the first time, the Netherlands' FA offered clubs the possibility to switch to Saturday football (or the other way around) 'horizontally', i.e. without having to restart at the bottom of the pyramid. Thus, vv Legmeervogels' Saturday team, which played its football in League 4 in 2021-22, is placed in Saturday League 2 for the new season. After more than 9 decades of regular Sunday football in Uithoorn, this practice is sadly discontinued.
2023 / In its 1st season as a regular Saturday club, vv Legmeervogels finishes in 10th place in Saturday League 2D, thus having to fight for survival at this level in a series of play-offs. Successively edging past SV DWO, SV Aarlanderveen, and vv ESTO, the team qualifies for the final, played at vv Noordwijk's Sportpark Duinwetering. In that match, the club is defeated 5-3 by vv Verburch, thus suffering relegation into Saturday League 3.