BELGIUM: R Excelsior FC Lambermontois (1984-2008) / R Excelsior FC Lambermontois (B) (2008-2023) / R Entente Lambermont-Rechain (2023-)

Stade Léon Rodez, Lambermont (R Entente Lambermont-Rechain, formerly R Excelsior FC Lambermontois)

Belgium, province: Liège = Luik

28 I 2024 / R Entente Lambermont-Rechain - KFC Rocherath 1-1 / Liège, Provincial League 2C (= BE level 7)

Timeline

• 1906 / Foundation of a first football club in Lambermont, Union Lambermont, which probably never joined Belgium’s FA and must have folded after no more than one or two years of existence.
• 1907 / Foundation of a new football club in Lambermont, which takes on the name Racing Club (RC) Lambermont. The club’s first pitch is a pasture owned by a local farmer, Mr Lambert, situated at modern-day Avenue des Villas. The club joins Belgium’s Football Association that same year.
• 1914 / RC Lambermont has its finest hour, winning promotion to Regional Division 1.
• 1918 / Its activities having been severely curtailed due to the hardships of World War I and German occupation of Belgium, RC Lambermont concludes a merger with Skill from Verviers, forming Skill Racing Union (renamed SRU Verviers in 1932). All activities move to Verviers.
• 1919 / Refoundation of RC Lambermont as Excelsior Football Club Lambermont, undertaken by a group of disaffected Skill Racing Union members from Lambermont. Pierre Larose is the new club’s first chairman, with one of the other founding members being 18-year-old Léon Rodez. The club finds a home ground on a pasture which is rented from a local farmer, Mr Vandenbroucke, at Lieu-dit Bruyère du Fourneau. Due to most of the founding fathers having signed up for Skill Racing Union the previous year, the new club is refused membership of Belgium’s FA. Instead, Excelsior FC Lambermont joins a rivalling association, the Ligue Wallonne.
• 1921 / Not having taken part in the 1919-20 league championships of Ligue Wallonne, Excelsior FC Lambermont wins the title in its first season as a competing club in the most emphatic of fashions, winning all of its matches, managing a goal difference of +102 (105-3). Subsequently, the club also wins the provincial title by defeating Ans FC in a tie-break played in Stavelot (1-0). Thus qualifying for the nationwide finals of Ligue Wallonne, EFC Lambermont is eventually defeated by Crossing de Ganshoren from Brussels (the future Crossing de Molenbeek, 2-0). Also in 1921, the club wins the Coupe Wallonia, a local cup competition.
• 1922 / Excelsior FC Lambermont wins its second title in Ligue Wallonne in a row, while also winning another local cup competition, the so-called Coupe du Baron del Marmol by defeating Fearless de Pepinster in the final, albeit only after extra time (1-0). Following that season, strikingly, the club allows itself to be absorbed by top flight side CS Verviétois – with Verviétois promising to pay Lambermont’s outstanding debts to Skill Racing Union as well as allowing Lambermont to reform after one season, as long as the club’s pitch would be situated beyond the city borders of Verviers.
• 1923 / After one year under the aegis of CS Verviétois, Excelsior FC Lambermont is reformed, and – following the intervention of a lawyer, Maître Georges Hermès – accepted as members of the official Belgian Football Association. The club starts its life as an FA member in Liège’s Provincial League 3, recovering its old ground, Terrain Vandenbroucke.
• 1924 / In its first season in Provincial League 3, EFC Lambermont wins the title, 3 points ahead of Concordia Pepinster. In the ensuing promotion play-off against Prayon FC, P3 champions as well, the club manages to win, thus acceding to Provincial League 2 – the top division of Liège’s provincial league system at the time. Also in 1924, moving away from Terrain Vandenbroucke, Excelsior FC Lambermont settles at a new ground, referred to as Terrain Grands-Champs.
• 1926 / EFC Lambermont finishes runners-up in Provincial League 2B behind RSC Theux; in the ensuing play-off rounds, the club falls one point short of a historic promotion to Promotion, the newly created third level of the national league pyramid – with Spa FC walking away with the ticket instead. Moving away from Terrain Grand-Champs, Excelsior FC Lambermont settles at Terrain Wasay – in fact situated on nearly the exact location of Pitch 2 of modern-day Stade Léon Rodez. Upon Belgium’s FA introducing the matricule system, Excelsior FC Lambermont is assigned matricule 299.
• 1927 / After just one season at Terrain Wasay, Excelsior FC Lambermont moves to a newly laid-out pitch at Rue des Ormes.
• 1930 / Finishing with an equal number of points as UA Plombières, Excelsior FC Lambermont wins the title in Provincial League 2C, thus acceding to Liège’s newly created Provincial League 1.
• 1932 / Having spent 2 seasons in Provincial League 1, EFC Lambermont drops back into P2, never to manage a return to the top division of Liège’s provincial league pyramid. The club spends the remainder of the 1930s in Provincial League 2.
• ± 1933 / Moving away from their pitch at Rue des Ormes, EFC Lambermont settles at Terrain Zurstrassen, in fact opposite the pasture where the club spent the first 10 years of its existence.
• 1945 / Due to a relegation, probably in 1943, EFC Lambermont finds itself in Provincial League 3.
• 1946 / Moving away from Terrain Zurstrassen, Excelsior FC Lambermont settles at Terrain Sauvenier, situated at Rue d’Ensival.
• 1949 / Having missed out on the title on the last day of the season in an away game against direct rivals Blue Star Gemmenich, EFC Lambermont misses out on the opportunity to finds its way back to P3. The club stays put at that level for the following 23 seasons.
• 1957 / Inauguration of EFC Lambermont’s first-ever clubhouse at Terrain Sauvenier. Four years later, electricity is added as an extra luxury.
• 1969 / Having disposed of just one pitch in the first 55 years of its history, EFC Lambermont now acquire a plot of land from a local farmer, Mr Minguet, which remains in use as a training pitch for the next 15 years. Also in 1969, the club acquires the royal epithet, thus becoming Royal Excelsior Football Club (R Excelsior FC or REFC) Lambermont.
• 1972 / Moving away from Terrain Sauvenier, R Excelsior FC Lambermont settles at a new main pitch situated at Route de Wegnez – in fact a meadow which it rents from the same owner as its B pitch, Mr Minguet. In a reorganisation of Liège’s provincial divisions, a Provincial League 4 is added as the new bottom division; with REFC Lambermont finishing in the bottom half of P3 that season, the club drops into P4 straightaway. In the following decades, the club’s first team rarely manages results which catch the imagination. 
• 1974 / R Excelsior FC Lambermont is expropriated of its main pitch, which is replaced by housing. The club is left with just its training pitch, which is temporarily used for matches as well. In the second half of the year, the club finds itself a new pasture on the other side of Route de Wegnez.
• 1975 / REFC Lambermont has to move its A pitch 6 metres due to the Route de Wegnez being widened. That same year, becoming a non-profit organisation, R Excelsior FC Lambermont undergoes an obligatory name change – though it is a merely cosmetic adaptation, as the club is henceforth officially known as Royal Excelsior Football Club Lambermontois.
• 1979 / With subsidies being granted by Verviers’ town council – the municipality of Lambermont having been absorbed by Verviers 2 years previously – and ADEPS, the administrative service of the Ministry of the French Community of Belgium charged with the promotion of sport and physical education, works are undertaken to build a new ground with two full-dimension pitches as well as a training pitch on a meadow previously owned by a local farmer, Mr Orban, at Beau Site. That same year, the fields are levelled, while building works on the clubhouse get underway in 1980 with a group of volunteers led by Raymond Hendrickx taking on the bulk of the work. 
• 1984 / Inauguration of REFC Lambermontois’ new ground at Beau Site on September 22nd, 1984. In honour of founding member and long-time club president, the ground is given the name of Léon Rodez (1901-1996), who attends the inaugural ceremony.
• 1987 / Floodlights are put in place at Pitches 2 and 3 of the new ground.
• 2008 / A synthetic surface is installed on Pitch 2 of Stade Léon Rodez, the result being that first team football moves to this pitch (probably immediately) as well. The ground’s main pitch sees very little football in the following 15 years.
• 2009 / Finishing 15th in Liège’s Provincial League 3C, REFC Lambermontois drops back into P4 along with R Aywaille FC and bottom club RSC Tilffois.
• 2019 / Having finished runners-up in P4D in 2010 and 2018 (behind RFC Heusy-Rouheid and AC Soiron respectively), R Excelsior FC Lambermontois now clinches the title in P4F, 8 points ahead of closest followers R Entente Rechaintoise B, thus returning to P3 after 10 years.
• 2023 / In its last season as an independent club, REFC Lambermontois finishes in 14th place in Liège’s Provincial League 3D. The club concludes a merger with R Entente Rechaintoise, resulting in the foundation of R Entente Lambermont-Rechain, which retains Lambermont’s low matricule 299; Rechaintoise’s matricule 3905 is erased from the Belgian FA’s official lists. As Rechain’s Terrain Les Tourelles is abandoned, all activities move to Stade Léon Rodez in Lambermont. First team football is moved to the old grass pitch, which had seen very little activity since 2008, while all other teams play their football on the synthetic B pitch.

Note 1 – The main source for the information above is a booklet published on the occasion of the club’s 75th anniversary in 1994, “1919-1994 75ème anniversaire Royal Excelsior FC Lambermontois”; sadly, no name of an author of this precious publication is given.

Note 2 –  Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-6 & 21 = non-matchday visit, July 2023 / pictures 7-20 = match visit, January 2024.

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

NETHERLANDS: vv Helpman

Stadion Esserberg - veld 4, Haren (Gr.) (vv Helpman)

Netherlands, province: Groningen

27 I 2024 / vv Helpman - SC Stadspark 9-2 / Sunday League 2I (= NL level 7)

Timeline

• 1924 / Foundation of a football club in Helpman, a village just to the south of the city of Groningen. It is unclear where the first pitch of the newly founded vv Helpman was situated. In the subsequent decades, the village of Helpman was incorporated into Groningen, thus becoming ‘just’ a neighbourhood of the city.
• 1931 / Winning promotion from the ranks of the so-called Groningsche Voetbalbond (GVB), vv Helpman accedes to KNVB District North’s Sunday League 3 for the first time.
• 1933 / Conquering the title in District North’s Sunday League 3C, vv Helpman wins promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first time.
• 1947 / Finishing in eleventh place in Sunday League 2B, vv Helpman drops back into League 3.
• 1953 / Title winners in Sunday League 3B, vv Helpman manages a return to League 2. The stay at that level lasts for three seasons, with relegation following in 1956.
• 1964 / Abandoning their ground in Helpman proper, Terrein Achter ‘t Helperbad at Moddermanlaan, vv Helpman moves into Sportpark Coendersborg.
• 1968 / Title winners in Sunday League 3B, vv Helpman manages a new return to League 2. Yet again, the stay at that level lasts for three seasons, with relegation following in 1971.
• 1973 / Title winners in Sunday League 3B, vv Helpman manages a return to League 2.
• 1974 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2A – and helped by the fact that a new level, Hoofdklasse, is created to top the Sunday league pyramid – vv Helpman breaks down the door to Sunday League 1 for the first time in club history.
• 1975 / vv Helpman finishes in fifth place in Sunday League 1C – a feat repeated in the 1980-81 season – which is the best result in club history.
• 1984 / After ten seasons in Sunday League 1, vv Helpman finishes in last place in League 1C, thus dropping back into Sunday League 2.
• 1989 / vv Helpman’s first team in the Saturday league wins promotion from the ranks of GVB to KNVB Saturday League 4 for the first time. From that time on, the team has alternated spells in Saturday Leagues 4 and 3 with returns to GVB Division 1 – later renamed Saturday League 5.
• 1990 / Finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 2A, vv Helpman finds itself in Sunday League 3 for the first time in seventeen years. Also in 1990, abandoning their part of Sportpark Coendersborg, which is knocked down to make way for housing, vv Helpman moves into Stadion Esserberg, where it is allocated the eastern half of the park – the western half being occupied by GSV Be Quick 1887 since 1921. vv Helpman were given the luxury of a proper clubhouse and its own main pitch – officially known as Pitch 4 – adorned with a covered stand.
• 1991 / Conquering the title in Sunday League 3B, vv Helpman finds its way back up to League 2 at the first opportunity.
• 1992 / Runners-up in Sunday League 2A, vv Helpman manages a return to Sunday League 1 – possibly after a round of promotion play-offs. This second promotion in a row proved a little too much of a good thing, though, with relegation duly following in 1993.
• 1997 / In spite of just finishing in eighth place in Sunday League 2L, vv Helpman qualifies for the promotion play-offs, realising the impossible and winning promotion to League 1. Yet again, the stay at that level does not last longer than just one season, with relegation following in 1998. In the following decade-and-a-half, the club alternates spells in League 2 (1997-2001, 2003-04, 2005-08) and League 3 (2001-03, 2004-05, 2008-14).
• 2014 / Runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3C, 6 points behind champions GSAVV Forward, vv Helpman qualifies for the promotion play-offs, successively defeating SV Twedo (8-4 aggr.) and vv Titan (11-0 aggr.) to return to League 2 after six seasons.
• 2017 / Bottom of the table in Sunday League 2L, vv Helpman drops back into League 3 along with fellow strugglers vv ZNC.
• 2018 / Champions in Sunday League 3A, 15 points ahead of FC Lewenborg, vv Helpman manages a return to League 2 – finishing in a more than respectable fourth place in Sunday League 2K the following season.
• 2022 / vv Helpman’s main pitch is equipped with a synthetic surface.
• 2023 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2K, 15 points behind title winners WKE ’16, vv Helpman qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Defeating vv Rolder Boys in R1 (1-2), the club is eventually eliminated in R2 by vv Valthermond (0-2).

Note - The match I visited at vv Helpman was marred by floodlight failure; after some ten minutes, part of the lights fell out - and after 26 minutes, with SC Stadspark just having earned a spot kick, the pitch was suddenly put in the dark completely. Although part of the lights were up and running again some five minutes later, the decision was taken to complete the match at Stadion Esserberg veld 1, the main pitch of vv Helpman's neighbours GSV Be Quick 1887 (cp. last photo below).

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

NETHERLANDS: VVG (1979-1992) / vv Groningen (1992-)

Sportpark Het Noorden - veld 2, Groningen (vv Groningen, formerly VVG)

Netherlands, province: Groningen

27 I 2024 / vv Groningen - FC Wolvega 1-6 / Saturday League 2J (= NL level 7)

Timeline

• 1912 / Foundation of a football club in Groningen, which takes on the name SDS; it is unclear what the meaning of this acronym was – as it is also unknown where this club’s ground was situated.
• 1918 / SDS changes its name to become Voetbalvereeniging (vv) Groningen).
• 1925 / vv Groningen folds, ceasing all activities. It is unclear if this club is a precursor of the present-day vv Groningen.
• 1929 / Foundation of a new football club in Groningen, which takes on the name Celeritas (Latin for ‘Speed’). It is unclear where this club’s first ground was situated.
• 1931 / Celeritas changes its name to become VVG (acronym of ‘Voetbalvereeniging Groningen’).
• 1948 / Winning promotion from the league system of the so-called Groningse Voetbalbond (GVB), VVG accedes to District North’s Sunday League 4 for the first time. Most probably, VVG never played at a higher level in the Sunday league pyramid than League 4.
• ± 1958 / Abandoning their ground at Moddermanlaan, colloquially known as Terrein Achter het Helperbad (groundsharing with vv Helpman) in the Helpman neighbourhood, VVG settles at Sportpark Corpus den Hoorn as groundsharers of GV Groen Geel. It is unclear how long the club’s spell at Terrein Moddermanlaan lasted, but it must have played there from the early 1950s at latest.
• ± 1968 / Terminating the club’s groundshare with GV Groen Geel, VVG settles at one of the pitches of Groningen’s Stadspark, not far from the city’s horse track.
• 1975 / Abandoning their pitch at Stadspark, VVG returns to Sportpark Corpus den Hoorn, this time as groundsharers of vv GRC.
• 1978 / Awaiting their move to the new-to-be-built Sportpark Het Noorden, VVG plays one solitary season at Terrein Europaweg, a pitch situated in the vicinity of Groningen’s Philips factory.
• 1979 / Sportpark Het Noorden is inaugurated, with two clubs settling there: vv Potetos and VVG. Of the three pitches on the park, VVG occupies the middle one (today referred to as Pitch 2), while Potetos’ first team plays at the pitch farthest away from the entrance (modern-day Pitch 3). The pitch closest to the street is a mere training pitch, not used for official matches.
• 1992 / VVG officially changes its name to become vv Groningen. At the time of the name change, the club’s first team plays in District North’s Sunday League 4.
• 2000 / vv Groningen enters a first team in District North’s Saturday league pyramid for the first time.
• 2001 / In its first season in the Saturday divisions, vv Groningen finishes in fourth place in District North’s Saturday League 7B, subsequently winning promotion either as winners of a play-off competition or because of League 7 being wound up and all remaining clubs in that division winning a ticket to League 6.
• 2002 / Winning the title in District North’s Saturday League 6B, vv Groningen accedes to League 5.
• 2005 / Winning the title in District North’s Saturday League 5D, vv Groningen accedes to League 4.
• 2006 / Winning the title in District North’s Saturday League 4C, vv Groningen accedes to League 3.
• 2007 / With a team including the likes of Jhonny Meter, Sije Meter, Gerard Meter, Carlos Vijfschaft, Tim Rosema, and Gert Haak – some of whom had been part of the team from the beginning in 2000 – VVG’s Saturday team finishes in third place in District North’s Saturday League 3C, subsequently winning a round of play-offs, thus managing an unprecedented promotion to League 2.
• 2008 / Due to many players in the team having been lured away by other clubs in the region, vv Groningen is unable to hold its own in Saturday League 2J, finishing in twelfth place and thus suffering relegation to League 3; however, being unable to bring together a team to compete at that level, the club chooses to make a new start in the bottom division, Saturday League 6.
• 2009 / vv Potetos and vv Groningen are joined at Sportpark Het Noorden by a third club, VVK, who had previously been home at Sportpark De Hoogte, which has to be given up for housing. With all three pitches successively being equipped with a synthetic surface in the following years, VVK plays its football on Pitch 1 (the pitch situated closest to the entrance) from now on, while vv Groningen and vv Potetos continue to make use of Pitch 2 and Pitch 3 respectively.
• 2010 / Winning the title in District North’s Saturday League 6D, vv Groningen accedes to League 5.
• 2012 / Runners-up in Saturday League 5F, finishing 12 points behind vv Appingedam, vv Groningen wins the subsequent play-off rounds to win promotion to League 4.
• 2014 / Title winners in Saturday League 4C, 4 points ahead of vv Godlinze, vv Groningen accedes to District North’s Saturday League 3.
• 2016 / Having led the table for most of the season, vv Groningen eventually has to settle for second place in Saturday League 3C, 5 points behind vv Pelikaan-S. In the subsequent round of play-offs, the club successively defeats SV DESZ (3-1) and ONT (1-5) to win promotion to League 2 through the backdoor. In November 2016, the clubhouses of vv Potetos and vv Groningen are consumed in a fire.
• 2017 / Coached by former player Gert Haak, vv Groningen clinches the title in Saturday League 2J, 6 points ahead of vv Pelikaan-S – obtaining the decisive points in a 4-1 home win over vv DZOH ’85. As such, the club wins an unprecedented promotion to Saturday League 1.
• 2018 / In the best season in club history, vv Groningen finishes in ninth place in Saturday League 1E. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs for Zaterdag Hoofdklasse thanks to an excellent last quarter of the season, the club defeats vv WNC in R1 (3-1), only to be eliminated in R2 by vv DETO Twenterand (2-0 A.E.T.). 
• 2019 / A new clubhouse for vv Groningen and vv Potetos inaugurated at Sportpark het Noorden; the new construction has been incorporated into VVK’s clubhouse, dating back to 2008-09. Also in 2019, vv Groningen’s Sunday league branch is disbanded; from now on, all the club’s activities take place on Saturdays.
• 2023 / After a disastrous first half of the season, with the club’s first team finding itself rock bottom in Saturday League 1F, and some unacceptable behaviour by club members on and off the pitch, vv Groningen’s chairman Robbert Bollegraaf takes the far-reaching decision of withdrawing all teams and liquidating the club in February 2023. This decision, however, was taken without consulting the membership – and a restart is made the following month with new chairman Oscar Groeneboom. The new presidency of the club applied for their first team to be allowed to make a restart in Saturday League 5, but no permission is given by the Netherlands’ FA (KNVB) – and so vv Groningen finds itself in Saturday League 2 for the 2023-24 season.

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

NETHERLANDS: AV&CV Robur et Velocitas 1882

Sportpark Kerschoten, Apeldoorn (AV&CV Robur et Velocitas 1882)

Netherlands, province: Guelders = Gelderland

21 I 2024 / AV&CV Robur et Velocitas 1882 - vv Witkampers 3-1 / District East, Sunday League 3B (= NL level 8)

Timeline

• 1882 / At the instigation of Henry Thierry Daendels Snr., a cricket club is founded in Apeldoorn, which takes on the name Robur et Velocitas – Latin for ‘Strength and Speed’, an epithet conceived by Dr. J.F. Hoekstra. The club’s ground is situated in a newly laid-out (and short-lived) public park, the so-called Emmapark.
• 1887 / A first football club is founded in Apeldoorn, aptly named Apeldoornsche Football Club; although definite proof is lacking, Apeldoornsche FC probably was the football branch of Robur et Velocitas from the outset – and formally absorbed into the club in 1889 at its latest. As such, having been founded in 1882, (AV & CV = Apeldoornsche Voetbal- & Cricketclub) Robur et Velocitas is officially the oldest football club in the province of Guelders, although it should be pointed out that Gelria from Velp and Go Ahead from Wageningen, founded in 1883 and 1886 respectively, started their football activities prior to Robur et Velocitas.
• 1890 / Taking part in a competition organised by the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB) for the first time, Robur et Velocitas is placed in League 2B, which takes on the shape of a cup competition – and Robur et Velocitas suffers elimination in its first-ever official match, a 4-0 away defeat at the hands of Go Ahead (Wageningen).
• 1894 / The cricket branch of the club ceases its activities; and although these are resumed temporarily in 1916, it is fair to say that football has been the club’s main activity ever since.
• 1898 / After a lull in the club’s footballing activities in the five preceding years, Robur et Velocitas takes up those activities in 1898 at its latest.
• 1900 / Robur et Velocitas accedes to the so-called Geldersche Voetbalbond (GVB) along with other historic clubs – AVC Vitesse (Arnhem), Go Ahead (Wageningen), Gelria (Velp), and Victoria (Wageningen). 
• 1901 / A provincial League 3 is organised for the first time in Guelders, with Robur et Velocitas being one of the clubs invited to join along with Gelria (Velp), DVC (Doetinchem), and UD Reserves (Deventer). Also in 1901, having been home at Emmapark for the first nineteen years of its existence, Robur et Velocitas moves to a new ground, Terrein Van Hasseltlaan.
• 1902 / Runners up in League 3, Robur et Velocitas is admitted to League 2 for the 1903 season.
• 1905 / Having been home at Terrein Van Hasseltlaan for the previous four seasons, Robur et Velocitas moves to a newly laid-out pitch, a piece of moorland at Asselschenweg (modern-day Asselsestraat). Also in 1905, Robur et Velocitas absorbs another club from Apeldoorn, Unitas.
• 1906 / Having played at Terrein Asselschenweg for only one year, Robur et Velocitas abandons the pitch, which proves hardly playable, moving on to Terrein Arnhemscheweg, situated at the back of Café ‘t Haantje. 
• 1908 / Having played at Terrein Arnhemscheweg for two years, Robur et Velocitas finds a new home on a meadow situated at the crossroads of Welgelegenweg and Deventerstraat.
• 1909 / Queen Wilhelmina, whose residence Paleis Het Loo is only a short distance away, visits the club on her birthday, i.e. Queen’s Day. Also in 1909, the club invites clubs from abroad for exhibition games – defeating both Solinger FC 1895 (Germany, 8-0) and Walthamstow Avenue FC (England, 3-2).
• 1913 / Having previously won League 2 titles in 1903, 1907, and 1908, without the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB) allowing the club to accede to the top flight of the Netherlands’ football pyramid, the fourth title, gained in 1913, allows the club to finally break down the door to League 1 in spite of losing the promotion match against GSAVV Forward (Groningen) – but thanks to a reorganisation of the league pyramid.
• 1914 / Robur et Velocitas reaches the semi-final of NVB’s cup competition, in which it suffers a defeat at the hands of DFC (Dordrecht).
• 1918 / Having played at Terrein Deventerstraat for the past ten years, Robur et Velocitas relocates to a newly laid-out ground at Asselschenweg – in the woodlands to the west of Jachtlaan.
• 1919 / Although managing a third place in League 1 in 1919, the best result in club history, Robur et Velocitas is retrograded to League 2 for the new season, probably due to a new reorganisation of the league pyramid.
• 1921 / Due to extensive works being carried out at the pitch at Asselschenweg, Robur et Velocitas groundshares with AGOVV at Gemeentelijk Sportterrein Berg & Bos for one season, returning to its own ground the following year.
• 1923 / A stand is added to the set-up at Terrein Asselschenweg, the construction being inaugurated with a home match against AV&AC Hertog Hendrik (Arnhem). Also in 1923, Robur et Velocitas wins a cup competition in Hilversum, the so-called Gooi- en Eemlandbeker.
• 1926 / Clinching the title in League 2B, 1 point ahead of city rivals AGOVV, Robur et Velocitas manages a return to League 1 after an absence of seven years.
• 1929 / After having worked with Mr Fawcett, an English coach which the club shared with Zwolle club ZAC in 1926, Robur now hires its first full-time British trainer, E.E. Smith, who previously worked (played?) at Cardiff City FC.
• 1931 / After finishing last in District East’s League 1, Robur et Velocitas manages to save its skin by winning a set of promotion-relegation play-offs.
• 1932 / Construction of a new grandstand at Terrein Asselschenweg, which is inaugurated in the course of the 1932-33 season in a home match against DVV Go Ahead (Deventer).
• 1933 / Finishing in tenth and last place in District East’s League 1, AV&CV Robur et Velocitas drops back into League 2 – initially playing its matches in the Twente branch of League 2 before switching to the Arnhem & Betuwe branch later on in the 1930s.
• 1937 / A tie-break match for one place in District East’s League 1 between NC&VC Quick (Nijmegen) and HVV Hengelo, played at Robur et Velocitas’ ground, draws a record crowd of some 12,600.
• 1944 / Due to Terrein Asselsestraat being commandeered by Germany’s occupying Wehrmacht troops, AV&CV Robur et Velocitas is constrained to groundshare with AGOVV at Sportterrein Berg & Bos for a second time in its history. The club cannot return to its home ground earlier than in the latter stages of 1945, due to the Canadian army taking over the premises after the liberation from the German yoke. In the first years after the war, an attempt is made to revive the dormant cricket branch of the club, which had not seen any activity since 1924, but without much success.
• 1947 / Finishing last in District East’s League 2B, Robur has to play a round of play-offs against vv Arnhemse Boys and vv Daventria, in which it narrowly staves off relegation.
• 1950 / A set of floodlights around the main pitch at Terrein Asselsestraat is inaugurated with an exhibition match against League 1 side AVC Vitesse (Arnhem), with Robur walking away as winners (3-1).
• 1952 / Finishing last in District East’s League 2B, Robur has to play a tie-break match against SV Zutphen at ZVV Be Quick’s ground, in which it saves its skin by defeating the Zutphen side 4-1.
• 1954 / In a vote among club members about joining professional league football, allowed by the Netherlands’ FA after decades of resistance, AV&CV Robur et Velocitas’ membership emphatically chooses to remain in non-league, with just one person voting in favour and the 118 others against.
• 1956 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2B – with Winterswijk club WVC walking away with the title – AV&CV Robur et Velocitas is admitted to League 1 nonetheless, due to extra promotion places being available after the creation of a professional league in the Netherlands. 
• 1958 / Having finished in a respectable sixth place in Sunday League 1B the previous season, AV&CV Robur et Velocitas now finishes twelfth and last in that same division, thus dropping back into League 2 after two seasons.
• 1963 / Finishing last in Sunday League 2A, AV&CV Robur et Velocitas finds itself in League 3 for the first time in fifty years – the decisive defeat being an emphatic 9-2 away defeat at SV De Treffers. Also in 1963, Apeldoorn’s town council gives the green light for a new park to be laid out for Robur et Velocitas at Anklaarseweg.
• 1964 / Obtaining the same number of points as derby rivals UVV Albatross, AV&CV Robur et Velocitas finishes in joint-first place in District East’s Sunday League 3B. In the tie-break match between the two clubs, played at AGOVV’s Sportpark Berg & Bos, Robur manages a 1-0 win, thus crowning itself champions and managing an immediate return to League 2. Also in 1964, Terrein Asselsestraat sees the final of the nationwide non-league championship between vv De Valk and vv Neptunia – with the club from Valkenswaard winning the title.
• 1968 / Building works get underway at Anklaarseweg for Robur’s future Sportpark Kerschoten.
• 1969 / Finishing second-last in Sunday League 2A, AV&CV Robur et Velocitas drops back into League 3 for the second time in six years. Also in 1969, Sportpark Kerschoten is inaugurated by club chairman Piet van Steensel. In the last first team match at Terrein Asselsestraat, played on September 7th, 1969, Robur defeats city rivals WSV (3-0). For the time being, the old ground is retained for lower team football and training sessions.
• 1970 / In August 1970, the old stand and clubhouse at Terrein Asselsestraat are consumed in a fire, as a result of which all of Robur’s club activities move to Sportpark Kerschoten from that moment onwards.
• 1974 / The clubhouse at Sportpark Kerschoten is extended to include a kitchen as well as a youth centre.
• 1976 / Bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3B at the end of the 1975-76 season, AV&CV Robur et Velocitas finds itself in Sunday League 4 for the first time in club history. 
• 1977 / In its first season at League 4 level, AV&CV Robur et Velocitas clinches the title in District East’s Sunday League 4G, the decisive points being obtained in a derby encounter away at ASV Apeldoornse Boys (1-3, goals by Jan Piet Wepster, Martin Händel, and Joep Bonenberg).
• 1978 / Clinching the decisive point in an away match at KCVO in Vaassen (1-1 thanks to a last-minute equaliser by defender Gerben Klein Nulent), Robur wins its second title in a row – this time in District East’s Sunday League 3B, thereby managing a return to League 2 after a nine-year absence.
• 1979 / Narrowly missing out on a third promotion in a row, Robur et Velocitas eventually has to settle for second place in Sunday League 2A behind vv Doetinchem.
• 1980 / Robur wins a local cup competition, the so-called Stedendriehoektoernooi, by defeating CSV Apeldoorn in the final (1-0).
• 1982 / At the club’s 100th anniversary, Robur’s chairman receives an honorary medal from the hands of Apeldoorn’s mayor, squire Pieter Beelaerts van Blokland. To mark the occasion, the club invites top flight side PSV to play a friendly at Sportpark Kerschoten – with the match finishing 5-0 for the Eindhoven side (goalscorers include Jan Poortvliet and Jurrie Koolhof). Possibly also in this year, the club officially adds the year ‘1882’ to its name – thus becoming AV&CV Robur et Velocitas 1882, although no certainty is to be had on this subject (yet).
• 1988 / Finishing last in Sunday League 2B, Robur drops back into League 3.
• 1991 / Finishing last in District East’s Sunday League 3B, Robur et Velocitas finds itself in Sunday League 4 for the first time in club history. In the 1991-92 season, the club narrowly avoids a second relegation in a row, into the ranks of GVB (Gelderse Voetbalbond) – the level below League 4.
• 1993 / Title winners in Sunday League 4G, Robur finds its way back to League 3.
• 1994 / Finishing in joint-first place in District East’s Sunday League 3B with city rivals ASV Apeldoornse Boys, the two clubs battle it out in a tie-break match, played at CSV Apeldoorn’s Sportpark Orderbos. As Apeldoornse Boys wins the match as well as the title, Robur et Velocitas has to secure promotion in a set of play-offs, which it manages to do successfully – defeating RKSV NEO comprehensively in the final (4-1). As such, the club returns to Sunday League 2.
• 1995 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2A, Robur qualifies for the promotion play-offs, but fails to secure a place in League 1. In the summer season, the club wins a local cup competition, the so-called Notaris Wille Cup – going on to win the trophy a second time in 1997.
• 1997 / AV&CV Robur et Velocitas 1882 entertains AFC Ajax in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark Kerschoten. With some 6,000 spectators around the pitch, the Amsterdam side, which includes star players Edwin van der Sar, Danny Blind, and Frank de Boer, wins the match comprehensively (2-7).
• 1999 / Clinching the title in Sunday League 2I, Robur et Velocitas finds itself in League 1 for the first time in 41 years. In the 1999-2000 season, the club manages a respectable fifth place in Sunday League 1E as well as a spot in the play-offs, but promotion to Zondag Hoofdklasse is not achieved.
• 2001 / Finishing in ninth place in Sunday League 1E, Robur plays a tie-break match against SV Colmschate ’33 at ABS’s Sportpark De Looënk in Bathmen to avoid relegation, going on to win the encounter (2-0) and save its skin in L1. Also in 2001, a renovation of the clubhouse and dressing rooms at Sportpark Kerschoten is carried out.
• 2002 / In its best post-war season, Robur finishes runners-up in Sunday League 1E.
• 2005 / Following three relegations in a row (2003, 2004, 2005), AV&CV Robur et Velocitas 1882 suddenly finds itself in the abyss of Sunday League 4.
• 2010 / Winning the title in District East’s Sunday League 4G, Robur gains promotion to League 3.
• 2013 / Finishing in fourth place in Sunday League 3B, 13 points behind champions SC Overwetering, Robur et Velocitas manages to secure promotion to League 2 via the backdoor of the promotion play-offs for the first time in club history.
• 2014 / Finishing second-last in Sunday League 2I, Robur drops back into League 3 immediately, being accompanied by bottom club vv Beekbergen.
• 2016 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 3B, only 3 points behind champions SV Colmschate ’33, Robur et Velocitas secures promotion to League 2 via the play-offs, but in the most dramatic of fashions – the final against SV Turkse Kracht being suspended by the referee after 70 minutes due to misbehaviour on the part of Turkse Kracht’s players and supporters; and the match being awarded to Robur subsequently. 
• 2018 / Finishing in twelfth place in Sunday League 2J, Robur has to play a set of play-offs to stave off relegation. Defeating vv Reutum in R1 (4-2 A.E.T.), the club suffers a 1-2 home defeat at the hands of FC Suryoye-Mediterraneo, resulting in relegation into League 3.
• 2022 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 3D, 3 points behind champions zvv AZC, Robur qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is eliminated in R1 by RKOSV Avanti Wilskracht (1-2).

Note – The main source for the information provided above is a book published on the occasion of the club’s 125th anniversary: “Robur et Velocitas. 125 jaar Kracht en Snelheid”, written by Ewald de Boer, Robert Erkens, and Gerben Spies; and published by the club itself in Apeldoorn, 2007.

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