Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: VFC

Terrein Sportlaan, Vlaardingen (VFC)

Netherlands, province: South Holland = Zuid-Holland

13 IV 2024 / VFC (za) - vv CION 5-0 / District West II, Saturday League 2B (= NL level 7)

Timeline

1898 / Foundation of a football club in Vlaardingen, VFC Olympia (Vlaardingsche Football Club ‘Olympia’).
1903 / Foundation of a football club in Rotterdam, RVV DVS (Rotterdamsche Voetbalvereeniging ‘Door Vereeniging Sterk’).
1904 / Foundation of a football club in Vlaardingen, which takes on the name VFC (Vlaardingsche Football Club). In the nine years of its existence as an independent club, VFC wins the title in League 3 three times, but without attaining promotion to League 2.
1913 / VFC allows itself to be absorbed by RVV DVS, with the first team playing its football at DVS’s ground in Rotterdam, while VFC becomes the club’s second team, with home matches being played at VFC’s pitch in Vlaardingen. Unhappy with this arrangement, players of the DVS team playing in Vlaardingen turn to VFC Olympia, wondering if that club would be interested to join forces – and as such, the breakaway members of DVS from Vlaardingen decide to join VFC Olympia on October 28th, 1913. The new VFC Olympia, which plays its football at Terrein Land van Knoop (Groeneweg, Vlaardingen) starts its life in Division 1 of RVB (Rotterdamsche Voetbalbond).
1914 / Under pressure of members of the old VFC (which had merged with DVS the year before), VFC Olympia changes its name to become VFC. Around this same time, the club moves to a new pitch, Terrein Land van IJzermans, also situated at Groeneweg in Vlaardingen.
1916 / Winning the title in RVB Division 1, VFC wins promotion to League 3 of the official Netherlands’ FA (NVB = Nederlandsche Voetbalbond).
1919 / VFC clinches the title in NVB District West’s League 3A, but fails to win promotion to League 2 in the play-offs. Also in 1919, RVV DVS concludes a merger with C&VC Hermes from Schiedam, resulting in the foundation of C&FC Hermes DVS.
1932 / Terrein Groeneweg (Land van IJzermans) is given a thorough renovation. The new stadium is inaugurated with a match between VFC and town rivals vv Fortuna (Vlaardingen), attended by thousands of spectators.
1941 / VFC clinches the title in NVB District West II’s Sunday League 3C, 9 points ahead of AVV Alphen, but fails to win promotion to League 2 in the play-offs.
1943 / VFC finishes in joint-first place in District West II’s Sunday League 3C, sharing the title with town rivals SV De Hollandiaan. Yet again, no promotion to League 2 is achieved. Also in 1943, an athletics branch is added to VFC; athletics has a place in the spectre of club activities for the following twenty odd years. Also in 1943, VFC moves away from Terrein Groeneweg, settling at a newly laid-out ground at Van Linden van den Heuvelsingel, which has the luxury of an uncovered grandstand.
1944 / Runners-up in District West II’s Sunday League 3C, 3 points behind SV De Hollandiaan, VFC wins a historic promotion to League 2 – the details of this promotion are not available to this author. Due to league football being suspended in the last year of the German occupation, the club has to wait until mid-1945 before taking its place in District West II’s Sunday League 2A.
1946 / In its first season in League 2, VFC finishes in tenth and last place, but manages to avert relegation in a set of play-offs.
1948 / The grandstand having been consumed in a fire a year previously, a successor is built – a stand with a characteristically rounded roof – and inaugurated in 1948.
1949 / Finishing in tenth and last place in District West II’s Sunday League 2B, VFC drops back into League 3 along with DVV ODS.
1950 / Finishing in joint-first place with HVV Laakkwartier in District West II’s Sunday League 3C, VFC meets the club from The Hague in a tie-break match, played at C&FC Hermes DVS’s Sportterrein aan de Damlaan. With the first match ending in a goalless draw, a second match is organised at the same venue, in which Laakkwartier wins 2-0 – and as such, VFC misses out on a return to League 2.
1955 / Finishing in joint-first place with SC Neptunus in District West II’s Sunday League 3D, VFC – coached by Tinus van der Pijl – meets the club from Rotterdam in a tie-break match, played at C&FC Hermes DVS’s Sportterrein aan de Damlaan; with an attendance of some 6,000, VFC manages a 3-2 win, which results in the club returning to League 2 after an absence of six seasons.
1959 / VFC clinches the title in District West II’s Sunday League 2A, 2 points ahead of HSV VUC, with the decisive points being obtained in a 5-1 home win against Leerdam Sport ’55. In the play-offs, VFC fails to win promotion to League 1. Also in 1959, baseball is added to the spectre of VFC’s club activities.
1960 / The entrance gate of VFC’s ground is moved from Van Linden van den Heuvelsingel to Sportlaan.
1961 / Clinching the title in District West II’s Sunday League 2B, 6 points ahead of RV&AV Overmaas, VFC accedes to Sunday League 1 – the highest level of the non-league pyramid at that time – for the first time in club history after winning a play-off match against SV De Musschen (0-1). The stay at that level does not last long, though, with relegation following after just one season in 1962.
1969 / Coached by Aad de Held, VFC finishes in last place in Sunday League 2A, thus dropping back into League 3. Also in 1969, the baseball branch of VFC breaks away from the club, preferring to continue independently as SC Vlaardingen Holy.
1970 / Still coached by Aad de Held, VFC finishes in last place in District West II’s Sunday League 3D, thus suffering its second relegation in a row and finding itself in League 4 for the first time in club history.
1974 / Runners-up in District West II’s Sunday League 4C, 8 points behind champions KRSV Vredenburch, VFC – coached by Leen Pil – wins automatic promotion to League 3, as extra promotion are available due to the introduction of Zondag Hoofdklasse as the new top level of the non-league pyramid.
1979 / Coached by Wolter Bos, VFC clinches the title in District West II’s Sunday League 3C, 4 points ahead of vv SMV. As such, the club manages a return to League 2 after an absence of ten seasons.
1983 / Coached by Wim de Zwart, VFC finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 2B, as a result of which the club drops back into League 3 along with DVV ODS and SV DRL.
1988 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 3C, VFC, coached by Jack Lammers, drops back into League 4 along with vv DHS. Also in 1988, discussions are held in Vlaardingen’s municipal council about replacing Terrein Sportlaan with housing and moving VFC to Sportpark Broekpolder. In part due to the club protesting against them, the plans are stalled, although the club is forced to give up one of its side pitches.
1990 / Coached by Wim Tijl, VFC finishes in fourth place in District West II’s Sunday League 4G, upon which the club wins a set of play-offs resulting in promotion to League 3. Also in 1990, a set of dressing rooms is inaugurated at Terrein Sportlaan, which offer the club extra space in addition to the old changing rooms built into the grandstand.
1994 / Having finishes runners-up in the same division one year previously, just 3 points behind champions vv Alblasserdam, VFC – coached by Henry van Leeuwen – now finishes bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 3D, resulting in the club descending into League 4 along with vv HOV.
2006 / Coached by Arwin Verburgh, VFC finishes runners-up in District West II’s Sunday League 4E, 3 points behind SV DWO, upon which the club wins the promotion play-offs – edging past vv Moordrecht in the final – thus acceding to League 3.
2009 / Terrein Sportlaan’s main pitch is equipped with a synthetic surface.
2010 / In August 2010, the old grandstand at Terrein Sportlaan, dating back to 1948, is knocked down as a new clubhouse and grandstand are constructed on the same location. In the meantime, a prefab clubhouse with prefab dressing rooms are put in place. Also in 2010, former VFC youth academy player, 20-year-old Jeff Stans, breaks into the first team of professional league side RKC Waalwijk. Stans goes on to defend the colours of SBV Excelsior, NAC Breda, Go Ahead Eagles, and Helmond Sport before hanging up his boots in 2020.
2011 / On August 13th, 2011, the new clubhouse and grandstand, of which the roof construction resembles its predecessor, are inaugurated by VFC’s chairman Jan Stijger and Vlaardingen’s alderman for sports affairs, Jan Robberegt.
2012 / Runners-up in District West II’s Sunday League 3B, 8 points behind Xerxes DZB (zo), VFC – coached by Eric Teunisse – qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it knocks out vv SJZ in R2 and DSV Full Speed in the final (5-5 aggr. & penalty shoot-out), resulting in the club returning to League 2 after an absence of 29 seasons.
2013 / Still coached by Eric Teunisse, VFC finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 2B, thus dropping back into League 3 after one season, along with RVV AGE and vv UNIO.
2014 / Coached by Danny Mulder, VFC wins the title in District West II’s Sunday League 3B, 6 points ahead of closest rivals RVC ’33. As such, the club manages a return to Sunday League 2.
2017 / With Sunday league football becoming ever more unpopular in District West II, VFC decides to enter a regular first team in Saturday League 4, but without withdrawing its Sunday team from Sunday League 2 – henceforth, the club has two first teams, VFC 1 (zo) and VFC 1 (za).
2019 / Coached by Bas van Loenen, VFC (za) wins the title in District West II’s Saturday League 4E, 1 point ahead of local rivals SC Victoria ’04. The decisive points are obtained in an emphatic 7-1 away win at RVV GLZ Delfshaven – with five goals scored by Nino Netten.
2022 / Still coached by Bas van Loenen, VFC (za) wins the title in District West II’s Saturday League 3D, 7 points ahead of vv Zuidland. As such, the club wins promotion to Saturday League 2 for the first time. Also in 2022, Sunday league football is abolished in District West II altogether; VFC is one of the few clubs not to withdraw its Sunday team, which has since had to play against faraway clubs in District South I (2022-23) and West I (2023-24).