BELGIUM: BSC Halle-Boyenhoven (1928-1932) / K Halle VV (1937-)

Terrein Asbroekstraat, Halle-Booienhoven (K Halle VV, formerly BSC Halle-Boyenhoven)

Belgium, province: Flemish Brabant = Vlaams Brabant

29 IX 2024 / K Halle VV - KSV Drieslinter B 2-5 / Brabant, VFV Provincial League 4F (= BE level 9)

Timeline

• 1928 / Foundation of a first football club in Halle-Booienhoven, which is given the name Blauw Ster Club (BSC) Halle-Boyenhoven. The club, which acquires membership of Belgium’s Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB) with registration number 1186, settles at Terrein Asbroekstraat, a pitch intersected by a path used by farmers and their cattle – for which reason matches have to be interrupted regularly until the path is cleared in the 1960s or 1970s. 
• 1932 / After four years, during which the club never fielded a first team in the regular Brabant provincial divisions, BSC Halle-Boyenhoven folds, ceasing all activities.
• 1937 / Refoundation of BSC Halle-Boyenhoven under a new name, Halle Voetbalvereniging (VV). The club, which joins Belgium’s Football Federation with registration number 2570, settles at the same pitch occupied by its predecessor, Terrein Asbroekstraat – playing on that site until the present day.
• 1938 / Taking part in Brabant’s regular provincial divisions for the first time, Halle VV is placed in Provincial League 3E.
• 1939 / After one season in Brabant’s P3E, in which the club manages a respectable second place, Halle VV withdraws its first team, probably due to many of its players being called up for army service following the mobilisation of the Belgian armed forces in the summer of 1939.
• 1942 / Halle VV makes a restart, entering a first team – not in Brabant’s Provincial League 3, but in Limburg’s Regional League 2J (2e Gewestelijke J).
• 1943 / After one year in Limburg’s Regional League 2, Halle VV returns to Brabant’s Provincial League 3.
• 1957 / Champions in Brabant’s Provincial League 3C, Halle VV wins promotion to Provincial League 2 for the first time.
• 1958 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Brabant’s Provincial League 2C, Halle VV drops back into P3 after just one season. The club never manages a return to Provincial League 2 in subsequent years. 
• 1963 / Finishing in twelfth place in Brabant’s Provincial League 3C, Halle VV descends into the newly formed Provincial League 4.
• 1966 / Champions in Brabant’s Provincial League 4C, Halle VV manages a return to Provincial League 3 after three seasons.
• 1987 / After 21 consecutive seasons in Provincial League 3, Halle VV now finishes bottom of the table in P3A, resulting in the club dropping back into Provincial League 4.
• 1997 / Halle VV obtains the royal epithet, officially changing its name to become Koninklijke Halle Voetbalvereniging (K Halle VV).
• 2001 / Runners-up in Brabant’s Provincial League 4F, K Halle VV wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
• 2004 / Finishing bottom of the table in Brabant’s Provincial League 3A, K Halle VV drops back into Provincial League 4 – a level where the club has played until the present day, with fifth place finishes in P4H (2015) and P4A (2018) being the highlights.
• 2022 / K Halle VV’s longtime secretary and treasurer, Louis Torsin, referred to lovingly as ‘The Heart and Soul of K Halle VV’, passes away at the age of 83.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

NETHERLANDS: RKAV (1978-2014) / FC Aalsmeer (B) (2014-2016) / FC Aalsmeer (2016-)

Sportpark Hornmeer, Aalsmeer (FC Aalsmeer, formerly RKAV / B ground of FC Aalsmeer)

Netherlands, province: North Holland = Noord-Holland

28 IX 2024 / FC Aalsmeer - vv VIOS-W 4-2 / Combined Sunday & Saturday League 1A (= NL level 6)

Timeline

• 1918 / Foundation of a first football club in Aalsmeer, a town in North Holland; the new club, founded by a group of schoolboys, is given the name AFC (Aalsmeersche Football Club). Recreational matches are played on a pitch situated at Kerkweg.
• 1919 / With AFC, no more than an attempt at founding a football club, folding, plans are made to form a scouting group in Aalsmeer. As this project never comes to fruition, the decision is taken to form a new football club, which is given the name VVA (Voetbalvereeniging Aalsmeer). For the time being, this club, like its predecessor, sticks to playing friendly matches against makeshift teams from surrounding towns and villages. Due to not disposing of a pitch of its own, VVA only plays away matches for the time being.
• 1920 / Having had to make do without a pitch in the first year of its existence, VVA now settles at Terrein Geniedijk (at the crossroads with Bennebroekerweg), a plot of land owned by a local smallholder, Mr Enthoven.
• 1921 / After one year at Terrein Geniedijk, VVA moves to a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein Zwarteweg (at the crossroads with Groenedijk), a plot of land owned by a local smallholder, Mr Verdegaal.
• 1923 / As VVA joins the AVB (Amsterdamsche Voetbalbond), the Amsterdam sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, later KNVB), the club is ordered to adapt its name, becoming vv Aalsmeer, due to a club from Amsterdam founded in 1889 already using the acronym VVA (Voetbalvereeniging Amsterdam) as its name. Throughout its existence, though, vv Aalsmeer continues to be referred to locally as ‘VVA’. For the 1923-24 season, vv Aalsmeer is placed in AVB Division 3.
• 1924 / In its first season, vv Aalsmeer finishes in third place in AVB Division 3. Although not eligible for promotion on grounds of sports considerations, the club is co-opted to be placed in AVB Division 2 for the new season.
• 1928 / vv Aalsmeer finishes as runners-up in AVB Division 2 behind champions NVS (Amsterdam).
• 1929 / Clinching the title in AVB Division 2, vv Aalsmeer accedes to AVB Division 1 for the first time.
• 1932 / After eleven years at Terrein Zwarteweg, vv Aalsmeer now moves to a newly laid-out pitch near Aalsmeer’s town centre, Terrein Sportlaan – still in use today by Aalsmeer’s athletics and tennis clubs.
• 1936 / After thirteen years in the ranks of the AVB, vv Aalsmeer now wins the title in AVB Division 1, thus acceding to KNVB (Sunday) League 4 for the first time. Also in 1936, a clubhouse and wooden dressing rooms are added to the set-up at Terrein Sportlaan. The new facilities are inaugurated with a gala match against an AFC Ajax XI (1-7, att. 1,500).
• 1937 / In February 1937, a grandstand is inaugurated, with the construction being made use of for the first time for vv Aalsmeer’s home match against TDO (att. 500). The costs for the building works are taken care of by a conglomerate of local entrepreneurs and benefactors, united in the SETA Foundation (‘Stichting Eretribune Aalsmeer’); as such, the new grandstand is given the name SETA-tribune. Also in 1937, as champions in District West I’s League 4E, 3 points ahead of runners-up SLTO, vv Aalsmeer fails to win promotion to League 3 in the subsequent round of play-offs.
• 1938 / Finishing in joint first place in District West I’s League 4E with ZSGO, vv Aalsmeer meets the club from Amsterdam in a tie-break match on the pitch of vv Schoten in Haarlem, going on to win the encounter 3-1. In the subsequent round of promotion play-offs, the club meets DJK, vv Oosterpark, among other clubs, going on to win all of its matches and thus acceding to League 3 for the first time. The skipper of the successful team is G. Kniep.
• 1949 / With Roman Catholic boys having played in a separate vv Aalsmeer youth team in the previous years, a teacher of the local Roman Catholic primary school, L. Pagano Mirani, takes the initiative to form a separate club. In March 1949, the foundation meeting is held of RKSV DETO (Rooms-Katholieke Sportvereniging ‘Door Eendracht Tot Overwinning’), with the new club immediately holding merger talks with RKDES from nearby Kudelstaart. However, due to the membership of both clubs turning down such a merger, RKSV DETO applies for membership of the Netherlands’ Football Association independently. Due to the name DETO already having been taken the previous year by a merger club from Vriezenveen in Overijssel, the club is admitted on the condition that it changes its name; as such, a new name is devised, RKAV (Rooms-Katholieke Aalsmeerse Vereniging). RKAV settles on a pitch laid out at Zwarteweg, on a plot of farmland owned by a local smallholder, Mr Van Wees. Apart from football, RKAV also has branches for gymnastics, handball, and several other sports in the first decades of its existence.
• 1950 / Finishing in joint last position in District West I’s Sunday League 3D with RKVV De Meer, vv Aalsmeer meets the club from Amsterdam in a tie-break match, suffering defeat in that encounter. As such, the club drops back into Sunday League 4 after twelve years.
• 1951 / vv Aalsmeer finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, 6 points behind champions RKAVIC.
• 1954 / Having played its football exclusively on Sundays in the first decades of its existence, vv Aalsmeer now allows the town’s Protestant community to form a Saturday branch under the aegis of the club. Henceforth, vv Aalsmeer is represented with a Saturday first team in the ranks of the AVB.
• 1955 / Finishing as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 2 points behind champions ADE, vv Aalsmeer wins a tie-break match against VVIJ, played at EMM ’15’s ground in Hilversum (5-0). As such, the club clinches promotion to Sunday League 3 due to extra promotion places being available following the introduction of a professional league pyramid in the Netherlands, as a result of which many clubs from the higher echelons of the amateur divisions abandon the regular Sunday divisions.
• 1957 / vv Aalsmeer finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, 3 points behind champions NFC.
• 1958 / Coached by W. de Gooyer, vv Aalsmeer clinches the title in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, 7 points ahead of runners-up JOS. In the subsequent round of play-offs against the other League 3 title winners in District West I – QSC, vv Egmondia, and JSV – vv Aalsmeer and JSV finish in the top two places, resulting in both clubs acceding to Sunday League 2.
• 1960 / At RKAV’s Terrein Zwarteweg, a second pitch is laid out, while a larger set of dressing rooms is inaugurated that same year.
• 1961 / RKAV wins the title in AVB Division 3, thereby acceding to AVB Division 2 for the first time. Meanwhile, at vv Aalsmeer’s Terrein Sportlaan, a floodlight installation is put in place at Terrein Sportlaan, with the club developing a habit of playing many of its home matches on Saturday evenings in subsequent years. 
• 1962 / After just one season in AVB Division 2, RKAV drops back into AVB Division 3. Also in 1962, RKAV officially changes its name to become RKAV V.S. (Rooms-Katholieke Aalsmeerse Vereniging Voor Sport), but the additional two letters are seldom used colloquially and may have been dropped in subsequent years.
• 1964 / Finishing in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 2A, vv Aalsmeer drops back into Sunday League 3 along with bottom club NFC. Also in 1964, Henk van Mourik plays his 250th match for the club.
• 1966 / A new clubhouse, erected in wood, is inaugurated at RKAV’s Terrein Zwarteweg, with Aalsmeer’s mayor Leo Brouwer performing the inaugural ceremony.
• 1967 / Former vv Aalsmeer player Henk van Mourik joins RKAV as head coach of the first team.
• 1970 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 3D, 3 points ahead of closest rivals vv Stichtse Boys, vv Aalsmeer manages a return to Sunday League 2 after an absence of six seasons.
• 1972 / A new sports park is inaugurated in the Hornmeer area of Aalsmeer, with both vv Aalsmeer and RKAV moving to these new facilities – with each club disposing of its own corner of the park and a proper main pitch. vv Aalsmeer’s ground is mostly referred to locally as Sportpark Aan de Dreef, while RKAV’s park is known colloquially as Sportpark De Bok. The inauguration of vv Aalsmeer’s part of the park is celebrated with an inaugural match against AFC Ajax.
• 1973 / Champions in AVB Division 3, RKAV wins promotion to AVB Division 2 for the second time.
• 1974 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 2B, 3 points ahead of runners-up AVV Zeeburgia, vv Aalsmeer and its trainer Frans Kramer win promotion to Sunday League 1 for the first time in club history. The decisive points are clinches in a direct encounter against AVV Zeeburgia (2-0, goals by Jan Reurings & Dick Fiene). That same match, Bram Landzaat plays his 250th match for the club. At the end of the season, vv Aalsmeer’s player Martin Eijlers is signed by professional league side FC Amsterdam.
• 1975 / Champions in its first season in Sunday League 1A, 5 points ahead of closest followers ASV DWV, vv Aalsmeer and its coach Frans Kramer manage a historic promotion to Zondag Hoofdklasse, the top level of the non-league pyramid since its introduction in 1974 – and thereby the third tier of the Netherlands’ league system, right below the two professional divisions (although it has to be pointed out that these are a ‘closed shop’). The decisive point is clinched in an away match against RKSV DCG (1-1), with Wim Keessen scoring the Aalsmeer equaliser in the dying seconds of the encounter. Also in 1975, vv Aalsmeer’s Saturday team wins promotion from the ranks of AVB for the first time, thus acceding to KNVB District West I’s Saturday League 4. In the following three decades, while the focus in the club remains firmly on Sunday football, the Saturday team alternates spells in Saturday League 4 (1975-78, 1981-82, 1984-87, 1989-91, 1995-96), AVB Division 1 (1978-81), Saturday League 3 (1982-84, 1987-89, 1991-93, 1994-95, 1996-06), and Saturday League 2 (1993-94).
• 1978 / A force to be reckoned with at Hoofdklasse level since its promotion three years previously, vv Aalsmeer now manages a respectable third place in Zondag Hoofdklasse A, finishing only 4 points behind champions HSV VUC. Meanwhile, RKAV clinches the title in AVB Division 2, thus acceding to AVB Division 1 for the first time – with the decisive points being obtained in a 3-1 home win against RCA (3-1). Also in 1978, with the new sports park, inaugurated only six years previously, already proving too small to house vv Aalsmeer as well as RKAV, the latter club now moves to a park somewhat further down the road, Sportpark Hornmeer, where it was due to stay for the remaining 36 years of its existence.
• 1979 / After just one season in AVB Division 1, RKAV drops back into AVB Division 2.
• 1980 / Finishing in second-last place in Zondag Hoofdklasse A, vv Aalsmeer descends into Sunday League 1 along with bottom club vv Blauw-Wit.
• 1982 / Coached by Joop van Veen, RKAV clinches the title in AVB Division 2, thus managing a return to AVB Division 1 after an absence of three years. 
• 1987 / vv Aalsmeer finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 1A, 6 points behind champions vv Blauw-Wit.
• 1990 / Runaway champions in Sunday League 1A, 11 points ahead of runners-up USV Holland and vv Alphense Boys, vv Aalsmeer returns to Zondag Hoofdklasse after an absence of ten years. Meanwhile, RKAV wins promotion from the ranks of the AVB, acceding to KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time in club history.
• 1991 / In the most successful season in club history, vv Aalsmeer finishes as runners-up in Zondag Hoofdklasse A, 4 points behind champions USV Elinkwijk, while also winning District West I’s Regional Cup (Districtsbeker).
• 1993 / Finishing in twelfth place in Zondag Hoofdklasse A, vv Aalsmeer saves its skin at that level following a victory over RKSV AFC ’34 in a tie-break match, played at ASV DWV’s Sportpark Elzenhagen in Amsterdam (2-1). Meanwhile, RKAV manages a second place in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 3 points behind champions AS ’80, failing to win promotion in the subsequent round of play-offs.
• 1994 / Finishing in twelfth place in Zondag Hoofdklasse A, vv Aalsmeer fails to save its skin tat that level following a defeat against ASV UVV in a tie-break match, played at SV Argon’s Gemeentelijk Sportpark Hoofdweg (1-0). As such, the club drops back into Sunday League 1 after four seasons, along with HFC EDO and bottom club RCH.
• 1997 / Finishing in second-last place in Sunday League 1A, vv Aalsmeer descends into Sunday League 2 along with bottom club vv Kolping Boys. It is the first time in 23 years vv Aalsmeer finds itself at this level.
• 1998 / Finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 2B, vv Aalsmeer descends into Sunday League 3 along with vv Veenendaal and bottom club SV Greenstars Baarn. It is the first time in 28 years vv Aalsmeer finds itself at this level.
• 1999 / While the focus remains firmly on the first team in the Sunday divisions, RKAV enters a Saturday team in the regular football pyramid in District West I’s Saturday League 5. The team holds out for six years at this level until being withdrawn by the club in 2005.
• 2001 / Finishing in fourth place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, vv Aalsmeer withdraws its regular Sunday team from the league pyramid. No longer playing its football on Sundays, the club henceforth focuses on its first team in the Saturday pyramid, which plays at League 3 level as well.
• 2002 / A covered stand is inaugurated at RKAV’s Sportpark Hornmeer.
• 2003 / Finishing as runners-up in District West I’s Saturday League 3C, 6 points behind champions vv IJmuiden, vv Aalsmeer fails to win promotion in the subsequent play-off rounds.
• 2006 / Coached by Klaas Lamberts, vv Aalsmeer clinches the title in District West I’s Saturday League 3B, 2 points ahead of closest followers OSV NITA, thus winning promotion to Saturday League 2. Meanwhile, led by trainer Dirk Cornelissen, RKAV finishes in second place in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, 4 points behind RKSV Pancratius; in the subsequent round of play-offs, RKAV manages successive victories over SV Geinburgia, SV Ouderkerk, and Sporting Maroc, resulting in the club acceding to Sunday League 3 for the first time.
• 2007 / Coached by Wessel Colijn, vv Aalsmeer finishes bottom of the table in Saturday League 2B, thus dropping back into Saturday League 3 after just one season, along with the club finishing in second-last place, FC Castricum. Meanwhile, under the aegis of trainer Rocco de Vos, RKAV manages the best result in history, finishing in sixth place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C.
• 2008 / The main pitch of RKAV’s Sportpark Hornmeer is equipped with a synthetic surface.
• 2009 / Finishing as runners-up in District West I’s Saturday League 3B, 4 points behind champions SV Overbos, vv Aalsmeer fails to win promotion in the subsequent play-off rounds. Meanwhile, coached by Henny Egberts, RKAV finishes in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, resulting in the club being retrograded to Sunday League 4 along with bottom club SV Bijlmer. Also in 2009, RKAV and vv Aalsmeer merge their youth academies, with youth teams taking part in their leagues under the name Jong Aalsmeer United from now on.
• 2010 / Coached by Edwin van Maas, vv Aalsmeer finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Saturday League 3B, 7 points behind champions AFC (za). As such, the club wins automatic promotion to Saturday League 2 following the introduction of the so-called Topklasse as the new top tier of the non-league pyramid, on top of Zondag Hoofdklasse and Zaterdag Hoofdklasse. Meanwhile, in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, RKAV and its coach Henny Egberts manage a second place, 8 points behind champions NFC Brommer. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club is knocked out in R1 by ASV Fortius (3-2 aggr.). 
• 2011 / On New Year’s Day 2011, RKAV’s covered stand, only nine years old, is consumed in a fire; only six months later, a replacement stand is inaugurated. Meanwhile, as runners-up in Saturday League 2A, 7 points behind champions CSV DVVA, vv Aalsmeer qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by IJFC (5-5 aggr. & away goals).
• 2012 / Runners-up in Saturday League 2A, 7 points behind champions FC Castricum, vv Aalsmeer qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by SV Geinoord (5-3 aggr.).
• 2013 / Coached by Anthony Servinus, vv Aalsmeer finishes in third place in Saturday League 2A. Qualifying for the play-offs, the club manages successive victories over ASV UVV (4-3 aggr.) and SV Marken (5-3), resulting in promotion to Saturday League 1. In November 2013, four years after merging their youth academies, vv Aalsmeer and RKAV conclude a fully-fledged merger, with both clubs agreeing to continue from mid-2014 onwards as FC Aalsmeer.
• 2014 / In its last season as an independent club, vv Aalsmeer finishes bottom of the table in Saturday League 1B, thus suffering relegation along with WV-HEDW, RCL, and SV BVCB. Meanwhile, RKAV finishes its last season in ninth place in District West I’s Sunday League 4F. Following the 2013-14 season, vv Aalsmeer’s Sportpark Aan de Dreef as well as RKAV’s Sportpark Hornmeer remain in use, with renovation works on the latter commencing in 2015 in view of the club’s plans to move all its activities there in due course. In the new season, FC Aalsmeer enters two first teams, in Saturday League 2B and District West I’s Sunday League 4D respectively.
• 2016 / After a year of renovation works on the clubhouse, the new Sportpark Hornmeer is inaugurated in January 2016. Eventually, Sportpark Aan de Dreef is abandoned once and for all after the end of the 2015-16 season. Meanwhile, FC Aalsmeer’s Saturday team finishes in joint first place in Saturday League 2B with FC Almere, going on to defeat that club in a tie-break match (2-2 & penalty shoot-out), thus acceding to Saturday League 1. The Sunday team crowns its first season under the new name with success as well, finishing in fourth place in District West I’s Sunday League 4F and winning two rounds of play-offs – against FC Purmerend (4-2 aggr.) and SV De Meteoor (3-3 aggr. & penalty shoot-out) – resulting in promotion to Sunday League 3.
• 2019 / Finishing in twelfth place in Saturday League 1A, FC Aalsmeer (za) has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs to save its skin at this level. Defeating ASV Arsenal in R1 (3-1), the club is knocked out in R2 by vv ZOB (4-1). As such, FC Aalsmeer (za) descends into Saturday League 2 along with CSW and bottom club HC&FC Victoria.
• 2022 / Finishing in third place in Saturday League 2A, FC Aalsmeer (za) qualifies for the promotion play-offs, being eliminated in R1 by SV Die Haghe (3-2).
• 2023 / Champions in Saturday League 2D, 3 points ahead of SV DONK, FC Aalsmeer (za) wins promotion to Saturday League 1.
• 2024 / Finishing in third place in the newly formed League 1B for Sunday & Saturday clubs, FC Aalsmeer (za) qualifies for the promotion play-offs, defeating CVV Oranje Nassau 1918 in R1 (2-3), but being knocked out in R2 by SV DZC ’68 (3-1). Meanwhile, the Sunday team finishes in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, resulting in relegation to Sunday League 4 along with bottom club APWC; however, following the 2023-24 season, FC Aalsmeer (zo) is withdrawn from the regular league pyramid.

Note – Much of the information above was derived from two memorial booklets put at my disposal by FC Aalsmeer officials, ‘vv Aalsmeer in beeld 1919-1975’ by J. Wey / A. Eigenhuis / H. van der Sluis; and ‘RKAV 65 jaar 1949-2014’ (anonymous). Many thanks to FC Aalsmeer for allowing me to use these two sources.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

NETHERLANDS: SV De Braak (B) (2022-2023) / SV De Braak (2023-)

Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Braak veld 1 (SV De Braak, formerly B pitch of SV De Braak)

Netherlands, province: North Brabant = Noord-Brabant

September 2024 / no match visited

Timeline

• 2020 / Foundation of SV De Braak as a merger of the two non-league clubs sharing Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Braak in Helmond with professional league side Helmond Sport, i.e. SC Helmondia and RKSV MULO. All activities move to SC Helmondia’s pitches at the southeastern end of the park. 
• 2022 / As one of the first steps in a complete renovation of Sportpark De Braak, a synthetic pitch is laid out in the northeastern corner of the park, which is shared by SV De Braak (as a side-pitch) and the pupils of the secondary school constructed at the northern end of the pitch, the Dr. Knippenbergcollege. That same year, SC Helmondia’s former main pitch is removed, with its covered stand being knocked down. Being deprived of its main pitch, the club is allowed to move its first team football to the adjacent Stadion De Braak as groundsharers with professional league side Helmond Sport. 
• 2023 / After one year of playing its first team football at Stadion De Braak, SV De Braak moves away to the synthetic pitch which has been laid out at the northeastern most corner of the park, partly on the area previously occupied by RKSV MULO’s old main pitch – a situation likely to endure until further renovation works at Sportpark De Braak will have been completed. At the time of the move to this pitch, SV De Braak had two first teams, a Sunday and a Saturday team both playing at League 4 level.
• 2024 / Finishing in second-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 4G, SV De Braak (zo) drops down into Sunday League 5 along with bottom club vv MVC. That same season, SV De Braak (za) finishes in second place in District South I’s Saturday League 4G, 5 points behind champions vv Jan van Arckel; qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the team is eliminated in R1 by vv Haaften (2-3).

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

NETHERLANDS: RKSV Prinses Irene (1964-) / FC Ewab (1968-2002)

Sportpark De Schellen, Nistelrode (RKSV Prinses Irene, formerly FC Ewab)

Netherlands, province: North Brabant = Noord-Brabant

22 IX 2024 / RKSV Prinses Irene - EGS '20 2-1 / District South II, Sunday League 3G (= NL level 8)

Timeline

• 1939 / Foundation of a football club in Nistelrode, North Brabant, which takes on the name RKSV (Rooms-Katholieke Sportvereniging) Prinses Irene. In fact, the founding fathers, led by a local schoolmaster, Mr Van de Zanden, had awaited the day of the birth of the second child of the Netherlands’ Queen Juliana and her husband, Prince Bernhard, in order to be able to name their club after the new royal child – Princess Irene – on that exact day, August 5th, 1939. A pitch is laid out for the club at the crossroads of Kromstraat and Tramstraat. Instead of joining the official Netherlands’ Football Association (KNVB), RKSV Prinses Irene sticks to playing friendly matches against teams from surrounding villages as well as makeshift teams of mobilised soldiers of the Netherlands’ armed forces, who were in the process of fortifying the Peel-Raam Line, a defence line built in the southeastern part of the Netherlands in 1939 in view of the mounting threat of a German attack on the country.
• 1940 / After the German conquest of the Netherlands in May 1940, RKSV Prinses Irene ceases its fledgling activities.
• 1944 / In October 1944, one month after the liberation of the southern part of the Netherlands, a meeting is organised in Nistelrode, at which 26 club members show up to re-found RKSV Prinses Irene. In November 1944, the club plays its first match at Kromstraat, being soundly defeated by a team of British soldiers (0-7).
• 1945 / In November 1945, RKSV Prinses Irene joins the KNVB, taking its place in the Brabantse Voetbalbond (BVB), the federation of clubs in North Brabant and the southwestern reaches of Guelders playing their football below the level of KNVB Sunday and Saturday League 4. In those years, RKSV Prinses Irene plays on various different pitches laid out on pastures in the vicinity of Nistelrode successively.
• ± 1949 / RKSV Prinses Irene moves to a pitch laid out for the club on a pasture referred to locally as Het Kantje. Later, moving away from Terrein Het Kantje, the club settles on Terrein Zwarte Molenweg.
• 1950 / RKSV Prinses Irene wins its first title in BVB Sunday Division 2, but the club fails to make it through the promotion play-offs. In the following years, the club is on the brink of folding due to a dwindling membership – a development only stopped after a group of Moluccan immigrants were settled in Nistelrode in the late 1950s.
• 1958 / Winning the title in BVB Sunday Division 2-214, RKSV Prinses Irene accedes to Division 1 of the ‘Brabantse Bond’ for the first time.
• 1964 / Winning the title in BVB Sunday Division 1, RKSV Prinses Irene accedes to KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time. Also in 1964, moving away from Terrein Zwarte Molenweg, RKSV Prinses Irene settles at the newly laid-out Sportpark De Schellen. The inaugural ceremony is performed by Mrs Kortman-Fleskens, the wife of the Governor of North Brabant, on September 1st, 1964. The covered stand on the northern side of the main pitch was part of the original set-up of the ground (cp. picture 18 below, showing the situation in 1964).
• 1965 / In its first season at League 4 level, RKSV Prinses Irene finishes in second place in District South I’s Sunday League 4A, only 2 points behind champions RKSV Juliana.
• 1966 / RKSV Prinses Irene finishes as runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 4A for the second year running, this time finishing 4 points behind champions RKSV Margriet.
• 1968 / A breakaway club is founded by Nistelrode’s Moluccan community, FC Ewab. From now on, FC Ewab shares Sportpark De Schellen with RKSV Prinses Irene.
• 1974 / Finishing in joint first place in District South I’s Sunday League 4A with GVV ’57, RKSV Prinses Irene meets the club from Grave in a tie-break match at SV TOP’s Sportpark Hescheweg, going on to lose that match and thereby missing out on promotion to Sunday League 3.
• 1977 / A netball branch is founded at RKSV Prinses Irene.
• 1978 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South I’s Sunday League 4A, only 1 point away from vv Herpinia, the club finishing in second-last position, which stayed up, RKSV Prinses Irene drops back into BVB Division 1 after fourteen consecutive seasons at League 4 level.
• 1988 / Having played ten consecutive seasons in BVB Division 1, RKSV Prinses Irene now wins promotion back to Sunday League 4.
• 1989 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South I’s Sunday League 4A, RKSV Prinses Irene drops back into BVB Division 1 after just one season, along with the club finishing second from bottom, GVV ’57.
• 1994 / RKSV Prinses Irene manages a return to Sunday League 4 after five years in BVB Division 1.
• 1998 / Finishing in last place in District South I’s Sunday League 4G, RKSV Prinses Irene descends into Sunday League 5 – the successor of BVB Division 1 – along with the club finishing second from bottom, RKVV Toxandria.
• 2000 / Champions in District South I’s Sunday League 5G, 1 point ahead of runners-up vv SIOL, RKSV Prinses Irene wins promotion to Sunday League 4.
• 2002 / 34 years after its foundation, in which the club’s first team never reached a level higher than BVB Division 1 – and not having fielded a first team in the last two years of its existence – FC Ewab folds, ceasing all activities.
• 2008 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4H, 1 point ahead of runners-up SV Vitesse ’08, RKSV Prinses Irene accedes to Sunday League 3 for the first time in club history. Also in 2008, a new set of dressing rooms is inaugurated at Sportpark De Schellen.
• 2009 / The new clubhouse at Sportpark De Schellen is inaugurated by Erica Terpstra, a board member of the Netherlands’ Olympic Committee. 
• 2010 / Finishing in fourth place in District South II’s Sunday League 3D, RKSV Prinses Irene qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by its near-namesake Sportclub Irene (3-3 aggr. & penalty shoot-out).
• 2011 / In spite of finishing as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 3D, in joint second place with RKSV Mierlo-Hout, 2 points behind champions vv Heeswijk, RKSV Prinses Irene misses out on the promotion play-offs.
• 2012 / Runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 3D, 13 points behind champions RKVV DESO, RKSV Prinses Irene qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Successively defeating RKOSV Achates (7-3 aggr.) and MMC Weert (4-2 aggr.), the club accedes to Sunday League 2 for the first time ever. Also in 2012, the main pitch of Sportpark De Schellen is equipped with a synthetic surface; simultaneously, the covered stand is renovated.
• 2016 / Runners-up in Sunday League 2H, 5 points behind champions RKVV Volharding, RKSV Prinses Irene qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RKVV Venlosche Boys (3-1 aggr.).
• 2018 / Runners-up in Sunday League 2H, 9 points behind champions RKSV Rhode, RKSV Prinses Irene qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Successively defeating vv Caesar (3-1) and RKWSV Wilhelmina ’08 (1-2), the club achieves an unprecedented promotion to Sunday League 1.
• 2019 / Finishing bottom of the table in its first season in Sunday League 1C, RKSV Prinses Irene drops back into League 2 along with vv Oirschot Vooruit and FC Tilburg.
• 2024 / Finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 2E, RKSV Prinses Irene has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs to avoid the drop. In those play-offs, the club knocks out vv Eijsden in R1 (4-1), only to be eliminated by vv Bruheze in R2 (3-0). As such, RKSV Prinses Irene finds itself in Sunday League 3 for the first time in twelve years.

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-4 = non-matchday visit, July 2021 / pictures 5-18 = match visit, September 2024.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author