Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: RKSV De Ster

Sportpark 't Hetjen, Stein (RKSV De Ster)

Netherlands, province: Limburg

16 VI 2024 / GSV '28 - SHH 2-1 / District South II, Sunday Leagues 1 & 2 - promotion-relegation play-off (= NL levels 6 & 7)

Timeline

1940 / Foundation of a football club in Stein, which takes on the name Rooms-Katholieke Sportvereniging (RKSV) De Ster. The club, which settles at Terrein Belboomweg, joins the Netherlands’ official football association (NVB), the only organisation holding football championships allowed by German occupation authorities. Most probably, RKSV De Ster is a successor club of an older football club in Stein which was a member of the RKF, the Netherlands’ Roman Catholic football association.
1941 / RKSV De Ster is placed in NVB District South’s Sunday League 4 after winning promotion from the ranks of the Limburgse Voetbalbond (LVB), the association organising football in Limburg below the level of NVB League 4.
1942 / Winning its second title in a row, RKSV De Ster finishes top of the table in District South’s Sunday League 4D, 1 point ahead of runners-up RKVV IVS. For the new season, the club is placed in League 3.
1951 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 3C, 1 point ahead of RKSV Lindenheuvel, RKSV De Ster wins promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first time.
1965 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 2B, 1 point ahead of RKVV Volharding, RKSV De Ster wins promotion to Sunday League 1 for the first time. Also in 1965, the club moves from Terrein Belboomweg to the newly laid-out Terrein Meigaat.
1966 / Bottom of the table in Sunday League 1D at the end of the 1965-66 season, RKSV De Ster drops back into League 2 after just one year, along with second-from-bottom RKBSV.
1970 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 2A, 1 point ahead of KEV, RKSV De Ster manages a return to Sunday League 1 after an absence of four years.
1971 / Yet again, RKSV De Ster’s spell in Sunday League 1D remains limited to one season only, with the club only managing one win all season – finishing bottom of the table and dropping back into League 2 along with RKWSV Wilhelmina ’08.
1976 / Bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 2A, RKSV De Ster descends into League 3 along with second-from-bottom RKSV Leonidas-W. As such, the club has to compete on the League 3 level for the first time in 25 years.
1977 / Suffering its second relegation in a row, RKSV De Ster finishes bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 3C, thus descending into League 4 along with vv Thorn.
1980 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4D, 3 points ahead of closest followers RKVV IVS, RKSV De Ster wins promotion to League 3.
1984 / Moving away from Terrein Meigaat after nineteen years, RKSV De Ster moves into the newly laid-out Sportpark ‘t Hetjen, situated in the nature reserve bearing the same name in the hamlet of Nieuwdorp on the eastern outskirts of the village centre, on April 30th, 1984.
1987 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 3C, 1 point ahead of FC Oda, RKSV De Ster finds its way back to League 2 after an absence of eleven seasons.
1997 / Bottom of the table in Sunday League 2G, RKSV De Ster descends into League 3, along with RKVV Waubach.
1999 / Finishing in third place in District South II’s Sunday League 3A, 4 points behind champions SV Haslou, RKSV De Ster manages to break down the door to League 2 in the promotion play-offs.
2000 / Bottom of the table in Sunday League 2H, RKSV De Ster drops back into League 3 after just one season, along with RKSV Meterik.
2003 / Finishing in third place in District South II’s Sunday League 3A, 6 points behind champions vv Caesar, RKSV De Ster manages to win promotion to League 2 in a subsequent round of play-offs.
2004 / As on the previous occasion, RKSV De Ster’s spell in League 2 does not last longer than just one season, with the club finishing bottom of the table in Sunday League 2G – and descending into League 3 along with RKVV Almania.
2005 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 4 points ahead of closest rivals SC Susteren, RKSV De Ster manages an immediate return to League 2.
2006 / As on the previous two occasions, RKSV De Ster’s spell in League 2 does not last longer than just one season, with the club finishing bottom of the table in Sunday League 2H – and dropping back into League 3 along with RKSV Mierlo-Hout.
2007 / Finishing in tenth place in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, RKSV De Ster fails to avoid the drop in a round of play-offs – thus descending into League 4 along with direct drop-outs vv Holtum and RKVV IVS. It is the first time in 27 years the club from Stein finds itself at this lowly level of the league ladder.
2010 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 2 points ahead of closest rivals RKFC Lindenheuvel, RKSV De Ster wins promotion to League 3.
2011 / Finishing in third place in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, RKSV De Ster qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by vv Caesar (5-4 aggr.).
2013 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 1 point ahead of RKVV Veritas, RKSV De Ster wins promotion to League 2.
2014 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2G, RKSV De Ster qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by ZSV (4-2 aggr.).
2015 / Finishing in fifth place in Sunday League 2G, RKSV De Ster qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RKWSV Wilhelmina ’08 (6-5 aggr.).
2017 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2G, RKSV De Ster qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RKVV Venlosche Boys (2-2 aggr. & penalty shoot-out).
2019 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2G, RKSV De Ster qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club successively defeats RKSV Bekkerveld (0-2) and RKVV Sportclub ’25 (0-1) to manage a return to Sunday League 1 after an absence of 53 years.
2024 / Finishing in fourth place in League 1F – incidentally the best result in club history – RKSV De Ster qualifies for the promotion play-offs for promotion to National Division 4, but the club is eliminated in R1 by RC&VV VOC (3-0).