Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: SV De Valleivogels

Sportpark De Bree-West, Scherpenzeel (SV De Valleivogels)

Netherlands, province: Guelders = Gelderland

1 VI 2024 / SV De Valleivogels - PVCV 0-3 / District West I, Saturday Leagues 2 & 3 - promotion-relegation play-off (= NL levels 7 & 8)

Timeline

1947 / Foundation of a sports club in Scherpenzeel, Sportvereniging (SV) De Valleivogels, with branches for football, netball, and walking sports. Contrary to the much older Sunday club vv Scherpenzeel, SV De Valleivogels is a protestant club, strictly sticking to playing football on Saturdays. The club’s first chairman is Brand Valkenburg Tzn. The club settles on a plot of forest cleared by a group of volunteers at Goorsteeg – the ground later earning the nickname Het Enge Bos.
1951 / With the branch for walking sports probably having wound up previously, the netball branch of SV De Valleivogels also ceases its activities – with the club since having focused on football exclusively. Also in 1951, a first set of dressing rooms is erected at Terrein Goorsteeg.
1959 / Winning the title in KNVB Afdeling Utrecht Division 3, SV De Valleivogels ultimately misses out on promotion in a play-off round.
1963 / Winning the title in KNVB Afdeling Utrecht Division 3, SV De Valleivogels wins promotion to Division 2 for the first time.
1969 / SV De Valleivogels drops back into Afdeling Utrecht Division 3.
1971 / SV De Valleivogels wins promotion to Afdeling Utrecht Division 2.
1975 / SV De Valleivogels wins promotion to Afdeling Utrecht Division 1 for the first time.
1976 / Winning the title in Afdeling Utrecht Division 1 – as well as clinching the nationwide Saturday title for clubs below the level of Saturday League 4 – SV De Valleivogels wins promotion to KNVB District West I’s Saturday League 4 for the first time in club history.
1977 / Winning the title in District West I’s Saturday League 4D in its first-ever season in regular non-league, SV De Valleivogels accedes to Saturday League 3.
1982 / Having narrowly missed out on the title and promotion to League 2 in 1979 and 1980 – losing tie-break matches for first place on both occasions – SV De Valleivogels now clinches the title in District West I’s Saturday League 3B following a tie-break competition with SV DVS ’33 and VVOP, as each of the clubs had finished on an equal number of points.
1983 / Finishing in third place in Saturday League 2C, just 1 point behind VVOG and vv Nunspeet, SV De Valleivogels qualifies for a play-off for one extra promotion place, taking on SV Arnemuiden and CVV Be Fair, winning the competition and thus acceding to Saturday League 1 – the top level of the Saturday pyramid at the time – for the first time in club history. The decisive win is picked up away at SV Arnemuiden (1-3, two goals by Aart van Ginkel and one more by Menno van Ginkel) in front of a crowd of 2,500.
1985 / Abandoning Terrein Goorsteeg ‘Het Enge Bos’, which had been the club’s home soil from the foundation in 1947, SV De Valleivogels settles at the newly laid-out Sportpark De Bree-West in Scherpenzeel’s village centre. The ground is inaugurated with a gala match against Feyenoord. Also in 1985, SV De Valleivogels is joined in Saturday League 1B by village rivals vv Scherpenzeel, who had formed a Saturday team in the 1970s, climbing up the divisions rapidly – though the stay in League 1 is short-lived, with relegation following in 1986.
1987 / In the best season in club history, SV De Valleivogels finishes runners-up in Saturday League 1B, 4 points behind champions SV Spakenburg. Talented centre-forward Alex van Ginkel, 23 years old, signs a pro contract with FC Utrecht. In the 1987-88 season, SV De Valleivogels takes part in the nationwide cup (KNVB-Beker), being eliminated in R1 by FC Den Haag (1-5, Valleivogels goal scored by Harrie Valkenburg), with the match being played at Den Haag’s Zuiderparkstadion for security reasons.
1988 / A covered stand is added to the set-up at Sportpark De Bree-West, with the construction being named after Barend Hooijer, one of the founding fathers of the club. Also in 1988, after just one season at FC Utrecht, in which he played in UEFA Cup encounters with LASK and AC Hellas Verona, Alex van Ginkel returns to SV De Valleivogels.
1993 / Finishing second-last in Saturday League 1B, SV De Valleivogels drops back into League 2 after ten years, along with bottom club vv Roda Boys.
1994 / Champions in Sunday League 2C, 1 point ahead of closest followers SV Lelystad ’67, SV De Valleivogels manages a return to League 1 after just one season.
1999 / Finishing second-from-bottom in Saturday League 1A – meanwhile the second tier of the Saturday league pyramid due to the introduction of a Zaterdag Hoofdklasse in 1996 – SV De Valleivogels drops back into League 2 along with bottom club vv DZS.
2005 / Runners-up in Saturday League 2B, 1 point behind champions vv De Merino’s, SV De Valleivogels wins promotion to Saturday League 1 in the play-offs. The stay at that level is short-lived, though, with relegation following instantly in 2006.
2008 / Finishing second-last in Saturday League 2B, SV De Valleivogels suffers relegation along with bottom club vv Benschop. For the first time in 26 seasons, the club finds itself in Saturday League 3.
2010 / Having left SV De Valleivogels to join SBV Vitesse’s youth academy seven years previously, Alex van Ginkel’s son Marco, 18 years old, makes his debut in SBV Vitesse’s first team. The midfielder goes on to have a respectable career at Chelsea FC, AC Milan, Stoke City FC, and PSV – also winning 8 caps for the Netherlands’ national team.
2011 / Finishing in joint first place in District West I’s Saturday League 3D with vv Woudenberg, SV De Valleivogels meets this club in a tie-break match, played at SO Soest’s Sportpark Bosstraat Oost, going on to win the encounter 3-2 and thus winning direct promotion to Saturday League 2.
2012 / Champions in Saturday League 2B, 1 point ahead of runner-up IJFC, SV De Valleivogels wins its second promotion in a row, acceding to Saturday League 1.
2013 / Finishing second-from-bottom in Saturday League 1A, SV De Valleivogels drops back into League 2 along with bottom club FC Castricum.
2014 / Finishing second-from-bottom in District West I’s Saturday League 2B, SV De Valleivogels suffers its second relegation in a row, dropping back into League 3 along with bottom club RKAVIC.
2015 / Champions in District West I’s Saturday League 3D, 10 points ahead of closest followers IJFC, SV De Valleivogels manages a return to Saturday League 2.
2023 / Runners-up in Saturday League 2C, 10 points behind champions vv Woudenberg, SV De Valleivogels qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is eliminated by HC&FC Victoria (0-2).
2024 / Being condemned to play relegation play-offs due to being pushed back into tenth place in Saturday League 2B on the last day of the season, SV De Valleivogels is eliminated in R1 by League 3 club PVCV (0-3), thus suffering relegation to Saturday League 3.