Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: Koninklijke DC&FC UD 1875

Sportpark Het Schootsveld, Deventer Colmschate (Koninklijke DC&FC UD 1875)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

6 IV 2024 / Koninklijke UD - SC Lemele 0-3 / District East, Saturday League 5C (= NL level 10)

Timeline

1875 / At the instigation of J.R. Dickson Romijn, a boy with an English mother who was temporarily staying in the Netherlands, a cricket club is founded in Deventer, which takes on the Latin name Utile Dulci – an abbreviation of one of the best-remembered quotes of the Roman poet Horace: “Omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit utile dulci” (= He who mixed the useful with the agreeable, was always praised – Ars Poetica 343). Other founding members include future historian Maurits Ernst Houck as well as J.A. Römer, L. Vitringa, and Ph. Kronenberg. In the first twelve years of club history, in which no football is being played yet, the club activities take place on various pastures around Deventer.
1887 / Having played on various pastures around Deventer for the past twelve years, Utile Dulci now settles at Terrein Ossenweerd, situated on the floodplains of the river IJssel. To avoid being washed away in floodings, the dressing rooms are constructed on wooden posts.
1894 / Absorbing the football club Excelsior, which had been founded a year previously, Utile Dulci changes its name to become Deventer Cricket & Football Club (DC&FC) Utile Dulci, often abbreviated to simply ‘UD’; at some point, the founding year 1875 was sometimes added to the club name, but this seems never to have been officialised. In those years, the club activities also comprise branches for hockey and athletics. Now having become a football club, UD joins the Netherlands’ Football Association.
1895 / DC&FC UD absorbs another football club from Deventer, VOGIDO (probably an acronym of ‘Voor Ons Genoegen Is Dit/Deze Opgericht’), without the club name being adapted as a result.
1896 / DC&FC UD absorbs three more sports clubs in Deventer: VIOS, Volharding, and Velocitas.
1902 / Another football club from Deventer, Be Quick, joins UD as groundsharers at Terrein Ossenweerd. Whereas UD is an elitist club, only open to Deventer’s upper classes, Be Quick’s credentials are firmly working-class.
1905 / UD’s groundsharers Be Quick change their name to become Go Ahead and join the Netherlands’ Football Association that same year.
1908 / Winning the title in 1e klasse Oost, 5 points ahead of PW (EFC Prinses Wilhelmina) from Enschede, UD qualifies for the final of the Netherlands’ football league against the champion in 1e klasse West, HV&CV Quick from The Hague. With the first two matches both ending in a draw (1-1, 3-3), Quick ultimately walks away with the title following a 4-1 win in the third encounter. One of UD’s players, Jan Kok, is selected to be in the Netherlands’ squad for the 1908 Olympic Games in London, ultimately winning one cap. Also in 1908, UD’s groundsharers Go Ahead are given the luxury of their own pitch at Terrein Ossenweerd; whereas UD occupies a ground to the south of the railway bridge, Go Ahead’s new pitch is situated to the north of it.
1912 / One of UD’s players, David Wijnveldt, is selected to be in the Netherlands’ squad for the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, ultimately going on to win thirteen caps (1912-14).
1920 / Moving away from their pitch at Terrein Ossenweerd, Go Ahead settles at Terrein aan den Brinkgreven at Veenweg in Deventer’s town centre – the future stadium Adelaarshorst; allegedly, Deventer’s town council offered the opportunity to move to this new municipal sports ground to UD first, but this club refused. Around that same time, the hockey and athletics branches of UD have both been wound up.
1923 / In one of several pre-World War II international tours, UD plays a gala match at Lille’s Terrain Avenue de Dunkerque against Olympique Lillois.
1925 / Finishing in tenth and last place in League 1 East, UD descends into League 2 for the first time – with a return to that level due to remain elusive for the following seventy years.
1927 / UD’s player Dolf Scheeffer is called up for the Netherlands’ national team for the first and only time. Scheeffer is UD’s last-ever player to be selected for the national team.
1933 / Former UD player Henri Marchant, who went into politics for the left-leaning liberal party VDB, joins the Netherlands’ government as Education Secretary, staying on in that job until tendering his resignation in 1935.
1937 / Finishing in tenth and last place in Sunday League 2A, UD descends into League 3 for the first time in club history.
1943 / UD conquers the title in Sunday League 3C, but no promotion to League 2 results. Also in 1943, having played at Terrein Ossenweerd since 1887, DC&FC Utile Dulci now moves to Terrein Bergweide. The idiosyncratic dressing rooms on wooden posts are taken along to the new location.
1956 / Finishing in twelfth and last place in Sunday League 3B, UD descends into League 4 for the first time in club history.
1961 / Conquering the title in District East’s Sunday League 4C, 2 points ahead of city rivals WWV, UD manages a return to League 3.
1963 / Having played at Terrein Bergweide for the past twenty years, DC&FC Utile Dulci now moves to the newly laid-out Sportpark Koerhuisbeek.
1968 / Finishing in last place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, UD drops back into League 4.
1975 / On the club’s 100th birthday, the royal palace grants permission to add the epithet ‘koninklijk’ (royal) to the club name; as such, DC&FC Utile Dulci now becomes Koninklijke DC&FC Utile Dulci (UD).
1981 / Finishing in last place in District East’s Sunday League 4G, Koninklijke UD descends into KNVB Afdeling Zwolle for the first time in club history.
1983 / Winning the title in KNVB Afdeling Zwolle, Koninklijke UD manages a return to Sunday League 4.
1984 / Finishing in last place in District East’s Sunday League 4H, Koninklijke UD descends into KNVB Afdeling Zwolle after just one year.
1987 / Winning the title in KNVB Afdeling Zwolle, Koninklijke UD manages a return to Sunday League 4.
1989 / Finishing in joint-first place in District East’s Sunday League 4H, Koninklijke UD wins the ensuing title tie-break against city rivals vv Daventria to return to League 3 after an absence of 31 years.
1990 / After long years of anonymity, Koninklijke UD’s cricket team wins the Netherlands’ national title.
1995 / Having played at Sportpark Koerhuisbeek for the past 32 years, Koninklijke DC&FC Utile Dulci now moves to the newly laid-out Sportpark Het Schootsveld, situated in a larger park of sports facilities for various clubs in the Colmschate neighbourhood in the far east of Deventer, Sportpark De Vijfhoek. UD’s new ground comprises four football pitches, two cricket pitches, and one training pitch.
1996 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 5 points behind town rivals and closest followers SV Helios, Koninklijke UD wins promotion to League 2 after a successful round of play-offs.
1997 / Finishing in second place in Sunday League 2I, 11 points behind vv De Bataven, Koninklijke UD manages a return to Sunday League 1 after an absence of 72 years.
1998 / Three years after the move to Sportpark Het Schootsveld, a newly built covered stand is inaugurated by former club chairman Joop Zijl. The new construction is named after him.
1999 / Koninklijke UD hosts Louis van Gaal’s FC Barcelona in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark Het Schootsveld (1-7); the Spanish side’s squad in Deventer includes the likes of Luis Enrique, Abelardo, Xavi, Josep Guardiola, Frank de Boer, and Patrick Kluivert.
2000 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 1E, 10 points behind champions RKSV Achilles ’29, Koninklijke UD qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Successively defeating AV&CV Robur et Velocitas 1882 and RKHVV, the club wins promotion to Zondag Hoofdklasse for the first time. The club’s squad at the time includes former professional league goalkeeper Jacco Beerthuizen (formerly BV De Graafschap, SC Heracles ’74, and Go Ahead Eagles) and former Go Ahead Eagles youth academy player Şenol Kök, who goes on to leave UD to play professional league football for FC Jokerit (Finland) and AGOVV.
2003 / In the club’s best post-war season, Koninklijke UD manages a fifth place the final table of Zondag Hoofdklasse C. Also in 2003, Koninklijke UD hosts AFC Ajax in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark Het Schootsveld (0-10); Ajax’s side includes the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Jari Litmanen.
2004 / Finishing second-last in Zondag Hoofdklasse C, Koninklijke UD drops back into Sunday League 1 along with bottom club AGOVV (AV). Also in 2004, 22-year-old UD player Alper Göbel leaves the club to sign a professional league contract at Go Ahead Eagles; later on, Göbel also defends the colours of FC Den Bosch, Göztepe SK and SV Spakenburg before hanging up his boots in 2010.
2005 / Koninklijke UD’s cricket branch is faced with the breakaway of a considerable part of its membership, which forms Cricketclub (CC) Salland.
2007 / Koninklijke UD’s languishing cricket branch withdraws its first team and merges its youth academy with CC Salland, which groundshares with UD at Sportpark Het Schootsveld.
2010 / Finishing in last place in Sunday League 1E, Koninklijke UD drops back into Sunday League 2 along with SV Vaassen.
2011 / Finishing in thirteenth place in Sunday League 2J, Koninklijke UD drops back into Sunday League 3 along with bottom club vv Twenthe.
2014 / Finishing in last place in District East’s Sunday League 3B with just 7 points, Koninklijke UD descends into Sunday League 4 along with vv De Gazelle.
2016 / Finishing in thirteenth place in District East’s Sunday League 4G, Koninklijke UD suffers the fourth relegation in six years, descending into League 5 along with bottom club DVV Sallandia.
2017 / When UD’s board member Willem Bennink, the owner of a gun license, passes away, the club’s small canon – used from the late 19th century onwards to celebrate a home side goal – is seized and taken away by the police.
2019 / Finishing in fourth place in District East’s Sunday League 5G, Koninklijke UD qualifies for the play-offs, but without promotion ensuing. Also in 2019, Koninklijke UD’s canon is brought back to the club, but the authorisation to use it for goal celebrations is no longer granted. Permission is only given for use on special occasions.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short in the early spring of 2020 after 16 of 26 matches played in District East’s Sunday League 5F, Koninklijke UD finds itself in tenth place in that division. Following that season, the club withdraws from Sunday league football after 126 (!) years, making a new start in District East’s Saturday League 4E.
2023 / Finishing in the bottom half of the table in District East’s Saturday League 4H, Koninklijke UD is retrograded to District East’s newly formed Saturday League 5.