Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: vv RESIA '42

Sportpark Bos & Heide, Wellerlooi (vv RESIA '42)

Netherlands, province: Limburg

3 IX 2023 / vv RESIA '42 - RKSV Meterik 0-5 / District South II, Regional Cup - group stage, group 2-39

Timeline

1928 / A first football club is founded in Wellerlooi, WFC (abbreviation for Wellerlooische Football Club). The club’s ground is a piece of farmland rented from a local smallholder, Bertus Arts. Although definite proof is lacking, WFC probably joined the so-called Roomsch-Katholieke Limburgsche Voetbalbond (RKLVB), a league association of clubs from the province of Limburg.
1936 / Due to a lack of players and financial difficulties, WFC folds, ceasing all activities.
1942 / After 6 years of inactivity, a recreational football club sees the daylight in Wellerlooi, with a provisional name being thought up, UVO (‘Uit Vreugde Ontstaan’); the founding fathers listed in the club’s annals are Thei Swemers, Albert Camps, Ben Hermans, Toon Hermans, Jan Litjens, and Piet Litjens. Initially settling at ‘De Zandkuil’ (or ‘The Sand Pit’) a particularly poor piece of farmland put at the club’s disposal by Wim Camps, UVO moves to Terrein Van Rhee at Rijksweg later that same year. Still in 1942, the decision is taken to take matters a bit more seriously, with a membership application going out to the official Netherlands’ FA (named NVB in the years of German occupation) under the name RESIA (‘Rooms en Sportief In Alles’, or in English: ‘Roman-Catholic and Sportsmanlike in All Circumstances’), but for reasons which are unclear the club is allowed in only as a branch of Walaria, a club from nearby Well.
1944 / Mere months before the end of German occupation of the southern half of the Netherlands, Walaria’s branch in Wellerlooi moves from Terrein Van Rhee to Terrein Ben Hermans, also situated at Rijksweg. After the liberation of the Netherlands, the club officially joins the Netherlands’ Football Association as an independent entity, thus becoming vv RESIA ’42.
1946 / vv RESIA ’42 clinches the title in Afdeling Limburg Division 1, winning the decisive last match emphatically at the dispense of vv Tienray (7-0). Subsequently also winning a promotion play-off against SV Brughusia (3-2), the club accedes to KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time. Its pitch at Rijksweg not having the correct dimensions for League 4 football, vv RESIA ’42 moves to a newly laid-out ground at the back of Café Fleuren.
1950 / vv RESIA ’42 fields youth academy teams for the first time.
± 1956 / Moving away from Café Fleuren, vv RESIA ’42 settles at a newly laid-out pitch at the back of another local pub, Café Jan de Smid.
1958 / Usually finding itself in the lower reaches of Sunday League 4, vv RESIA ’42 has a reasonably good 1957-58 campaign, resulting in a 4th place in District South II’s Sunday League 4G – and as such, it is the most successful season in the first 50 years of club history.
1969 / Having competed in League 4 for the past 23 seasons, vv RESIA ’42 now finishes 12th and last in District South II’s Sunday League 4H, thus dropping back into Afdeling Limburg. In spite of this, there is reason to celebrate, given that the club moves to newly laid-out, municipal sports facilities at Venweg, in the woods situated halfway between Wellerlooi and Tuindorp, Gemeentelijk Sportpark Bos & Heide. Inaugurated by Bergen’s mayor, Mr Huyben, on August 28th, 1969, the first match played on the pitch is a friendly encounter against derby rivals vv EWC ’46, ending in a 4-0 win for the guests – playing in Sunday League 3 at that time.
1970 / Losing its last match of the season in Afdeling Limburg Division 1 against lowly SV Ysselsteyn, vv RESIA ’42, coached by Frans Knor, has to leave the title – and promotion to League 4 – to derby rivals RKVV HRC ’27.
1974 / Sportpark Bos & Heide is extended, as a second pitch, mainly used for training purposes, is laid out.
1979 / Having suffered relegation in one of the previous years, vv RESIA ’42 now wins the title in Afdeling Limburg Division 2, thus returning to Division 1. Also in that year, the club reaches the semi-final of the regional cup, being defeated by Maastricht side RKVV Willem I (3-2) in a tie played at MVV’s Stadion De Geusselt.
1983 / Having suffered relegation in one of the previous years, vv RESIA ’42 again wins the title in Afdeling Limburg Division 2, thus managing a return to Division 1.
1984 / With both club’s youth academies slowly shrinking, vv RESIA ’42 and vv EWC ’46 from nearby Well field a first combined youth team.
1988 / Having finished runners-up in Afdeling Limburg Division 1H 2 years previously, vv RESIA ’42 now wins the title in that division under the guidance of coach Frans van Denderen. Thus, after an absence of 19 seasons, the club manages a return to KNVB Sunday League 4. The club holds out at that level for 2 seasons, dropping back into Afdeling Limburg in 1990.
1992 / At its 50th anniversary, vv RESIA ’42 hosts professional league side VVV in a gala match at Sportpark Bos & Heide.
1993 / Qualifying for the promotion play-offs in Afdeling Limburg Division 1, vv RESIA ’42, coached by Sjef Siero, finishes top of a group with SV Oostrum and RKDSO, thus managing a return to Sunday League 4. Again, the stay at that level lasts for 2 seasons, with relegation following in 1995.
1996 / Finishing in 3rd place in Afdeling Limburg Hoofdklasse D, vv RESIA ’42 qualifies for the newly created Sunday League 5.
1997 / Runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 5D, vv RESIA ’42 wins promotion in a subsequent round of play-offs.
1998 / In the best season in club history, vv RESIA ’42 – coached by Peter Groenen and with skipper Bas Fleuren – finishes in 3rd place in Sunday League 4H.
2000 / Exactly 50 years after RESIA fielded its first youth side, the club merges its entire youth academy with vv EWC ’46.
2002 / Suffering its second relegation in a row, vv RESIA ’42 suddenly finds itself in Sunday League 6.
2003 / Finishing in joint-first place with SV Swolgense Boys in District South II’s Sunday League 6E, RESIA loses the subsequent tie-break match against the Swolgen side, played at Well’s Sportpark Oude Linde (1-2) – thus missing out on promotion to League 5.
2004 / Clinching the title in Sunday League 6F, vv RESIA ’42 wins promotion to League 5.
2009 / Having descended into League 6 the previous season, RESIA now wins the title in Sunday League 6E, thus returning to League 5 after just one year.
2016 / Finishing 4th in Sunday League 5F, vv RESIA ’42, coached by Wim Rijs, qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Defeating vv Reuver (4-3 aggregate) – with Maik Michiels scoring 3 of RESIA’s 4 goals –, the club returns to League 4 level after a 16-year absence.
2018 / RESIA descends back into League 5 following a 14th place in District South II’s Sunday League 4E.
2022 / Finishing in 5th place in Sunday League 5D, vv RESIA ’42 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is defeated by vv Nieuw Woensel (8-4 aggregate), thus missing out on a return to League 4.
2023 / A provisional merger is concluded between three clubs in the municipality of Bergen, as RKVV Montagnards, RKVV HRC '27, and RKSV Stormvogels '28 form SJO SSA MSH Maasduinen - with vv EWC '46 poised to join the merger in 2024 -, but vv RESIA '42 chooses to continue as an independent club.

Note – The main source for the information given above is a booklet published by vv RESIA ’42 on the occasion of the club’s 75th anniversary in 2017: “Hoe de bal in Wellerlooi is gaan rollen”, written by Ger Fleuren & Christien Steegh.