Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: SV Dalfsen / vv ASC '62

Sportpark Gerner, Dalfsen (SV Dalfsen & vv ASC '62)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

25 V 2024 / SV Dalfsen - CVV Sparta Enschede 0-8 / District East, League 1H (= NL level 6)

Timeline

± 1918 / Foundation of two football clubs in Dalfsen, Rapiditas and De Spartaan.
1922 / While no traces of Rapiditas can be found post-1920, De Spartaan changes its name to become vv Dalfsen – later undertaking a second name change to become DVC (Dalfser Voetbalclub).
± 1925 / Foundation of two more football clubs in Dalfsen, Sportclub Dalfsen and DVO.
1928 / Foundation of a short-lived club in Dalfsen called DJK (De Jonge Kampioenen), as well as another club in the nearby hamlet of Ankum; this new club, AVC (Ankummer Voetbalclub) is the successor of a youth football club Ankummer Boys.
1932 / AVC folds, ceasing all activities.
1936 / Refoundation of AVC under a new name, AVV (Ankummer Voetbalvereniging). AVV settles on a pitch at Hessenweg, Terrein Het Roode Hert at the back of the eponymous café, owned by the local baker, Mr L. Massier.
1937 / Moving away from Terrein Het Roode Hert, AVV settles at a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein Hulsebosch, also at Hessenweg. Meanwhile, due to many players of Sportclub Dalfsen and DVC joining AVV, the two older clubs cease activities.
1939 / AVV has to cease activities due to many players being called up for army service in the wake of the mobilisation in the summer of 1939.
1942 / AVV resumes activities, changing the meaning of the acronym from Ankummer Voetbalvereniging to Algemene Voetbalvereniging in order to appeal to the entire male population of Dalfsen rather than only those living in the hamlet of Ankum – with another reason being that founding a new club from scratch was not allowed by German occupation authorities. The refounded AVV settles at the old Terrein Hulsebosch, sticking to playing friendly matches in 1943 and 1944 – with activities being broken off again due to several players being called up for Arbeitseinsatz or escaping it by going into hiding.
1945 / Resuming activities after the liberation of the Netherlands, AVV settles at a new ground, Terrein Café Bernard Lenferink at Wilhelminastraat.
1946 / Official inauguration of Terrein Lenferink with a match against OVC (Ommen).
1947 / Moving away from Terrein Lenferink, AVV settles at a temporary pitch, Terrein Noordman.
1948 / Abandoning Terren Noordman, AVV settles at Terrein Feijen.
1954 / Winning the title in KNVB Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 2, AVV accedes to Division 1 of the same league association.
1956 / Winning the title in KNVB Afdeling Zwolle Sunday Division 1, AVV accedes to KNVB District East’s Sunday League 4 for the first time. The stay at this level is short-lived, though, with relegation following instantly in 1957.
1962 / While the Roman-Catholic and Dutch Reformed part of the population of Dalfsen sends their sons to AVV to play football, the orthodox Reformed protestants in the village cannot reconcile playing football on Sundays with their creeds. Therefore, the decision is taken to form a Saturday club, vv ASC ’62 (Algemene Sportclub op Christelijke Grondslag 1962). The club’s first choice pitch, Terrein Knotters in Oosterdalfsen, being rejected by the Netherlands’ Football Association’s authorities due to the bad state of the surface, vv ASC ’62 settles at Terrein De Stokte, on top of a former dumping ground. In the following seven years, the club moves two more times, first to Terrein Bellingeweer at Rondweg, and then to Terrein Westerhof, situated at Polhaarweg.
1963 / A gymnastics club is founded under the wings of AVV, which uses the occasion to change its name to become Sportvereniging (SV) Dalfsen. In 1968 and 1973, branches for handball and netball are added to the spectre as well.
1967 / Due to growing membership, SV Dalfsen finds itself short of pitches; for that reason, two temporary additional pitches are laid out at Brethouwerstraat.
1969 / Inauguration of Sportpark Gerner on August 16th, 1969, with the main pitch being shared by SV Dalfsen and vv ASC ’62. Later that year, in December, SV Dalfsen’s new clubhouse is inaugurated on the same location.
1972 / Celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, SV Dalfsen plays a gala match against Go Ahead Eagles at Sportpark Gerner.
1981 / SV Dalfsen, playing in KNVB Afdeling Zwolle Division 1 at the time, sees its 16-year-old striker René Eijkelkamp, who had broken into the first team in the 1980-81 season, sign a professional league deal with Go Ahead Eagles. Eijkelkamp goes on to have a successful career at FC Groningen, KV Mechelen, Club Brugge KV, PSV, and FC Schalke 04 before hanging up his boots in 1999; Eijkelkamp also won 6 caps for the Netherlands’ national team between 1988 and 1995.
1982 / Winning promotion from Afdeling Zwolle for the first time, vv ASC ’62 accedes to KNVB District East’s Saturday League 4. The stay at this level is short-lived, though, with relegation following immediately in 1983.
1984 / After an uninterrupted spell of 27 seasons in Afdeling Zwolle, SV Dalfsen manages a return to the ranks of KNVB District East’s Sunday League 4.
1985 / vv ASC ’62 wins promotion to Saturday League 4 for the second time in three years.
1986 / SV Dalfsen’s netball branch breaks away from the club, continuing life separately until folding several years later.
1988 / Finishing in joint first place in District East’s Saturday League 4D with vv Vroomshoopse Boys, vv ASC '62 plays a tie-break match against the Vroomshoop side, losing the encounter and thus missing out on promotion to League 3.
1990 / Champions in District East’s Saturday League 4C, 2 points ahead of SV ‘t Harde, vv ASC ’62 accedes to Saturday League 3 for the first time.
1993 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 4H, 7 points behind champions vv Hoonhorst, SV Dalfsen wins promotion to League 3 following a round of play-offs. The stay in League 3 is short-lived, though, with relegation following immediately in 1994.
1994 / Runners-up in District East’s Saturday League 3B, 1 point behind champions SV Excelsior ’31, vv ASC ’62 wins promotion to League 2 for the first time in club history after winning a round of play-offs.
1996 / Finishing in fifth place in District East’s Saturday League 2D, vv ASC ’62 goes on to win a round of promotion play-offs to accede to Saturday League 1 for the first and only time in club history.
1997 / Finishing second-last in Saturday League 1D, vv ASC ’62 drops back into League 2 after just one season, along with bottom club SV Groen Wit ’62.
2000 / Finishing in tenth place in Saturday League 2J, vv ASC ’62 descends into League 3, probably following an unsuccessful round of play-offs.
2002 / Finishing in twelfth place in District East’s Saturday League 3C, vv ASC ’62 drops back into League 4 following a round of play-offs.
2003 / Champions in District East’s Saturday League 4C, 8 points ahead of closest followers vv Wilsum, vv ASC ’62 wins promotion to League 3 – but the stay at that level is short-lived, with relegation following immediately in 2004.
2005 / Finishing in joint first place in District East’s Saturday League 4C, with an equal number of points as vv Wilsum, vv ASC ’62 meets their rivals in a tie-break match, going on to win the encounter 5-0 and thus gaining direct promotion to League 3. Also in 2005, SV Dalfsen’s branches for handball and gymnastics break away from the club, continuing life separately.
2008 / Finishing second-last in District East’s Sunday League 4H, SV Dalfsen descends into League 5 for the first time, along with bottom club SV Raalte. Meanwhile, champions in District East’s Saturday League 4C, 1 point ahead of closest followers ASV Swift ’64, vv ASC ’62 wins promotion to League 3.
2009 / Champions in District East’s Saturday League 3C, 3 points ahead of closest followers CSV ’28 – ASC’s second title in a row – vv ASC ’62 manages a return to Saturday League 2 after an absence of nine seasons.
2010 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 5H, 1 point behind champions DVV DAVO, SV Dalfsen wins promotion to League 4 following a round of play-offs. The stay at this level is short-lived, though, with relegation following instantly in 2011.
2013 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 5H, 6 points behind champions SV Broekland, SV Dalfsen breaks down the door to Sunday League 4 in the play-offs. Meanwhile, vv ASC ’62 finishes in second place in Saturday League 2H, 6 points behind champions vv AVW ’66, but fails to win promotion to League 1 in the play-offs.
2022 / Finishing in thirteenth place in Saturday League 2H, vv ASC ’62 suffers relegation to League 3 along with bottom club ZVV Be Quick.
2017 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4H, 6 points ahead of closest followers SV Broekland, SV Dalfsen wins promotion to Sunday League 3 – marking a return to that level after an absence of 23 years. Also in 2017, replacing a grass wall, a covered stand is inaugurated along the western side of the main pitch at Sportpark Gerner.
2018 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 3C, 2 points ahead of closest rivals vv Dalen – marking the second title in a row for the club – SV Dalfsen accedes to Sunday League 2 for the first time in club history. Also in 2018, SV Dalfsen and vv ASC ’62 merge their youth academies under the name SJO (Samenwerkende Jeugdopleidingen) FC Dalfsen.
2019 / Champions in Sunday League 2L, 5 points ahead of closest followers vv Lemelerveld – marking the third title in a row for the club – SV Dalfsen wins promotion to Sunday League 1 for the first time in club history.
2023 / In the best season in club history, SV Dalfsen finishes in eighth place in Sunday League 1E – incidentally only 3 points ahead of vv GOMOS which suffers direct relegation to League 2.
2024 / Following the departure of several players, SV Dalfsen is unable to hold its own in the mixed Saturday/Sunday League 1H, finishing in thirteenth and last place with just 6 points from 24 matches, thus dropping back into Sunday League 2 along with second-from-bottom RKZVC. Meanwhile, vv ASC ’62 finishes in fourth place in District East’s Saturday League 3D, qualifying for the promotion play-offs.