Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: RKVV IVS

Sportpark Nederheide, Berg aan de Maas (RKVV IVS)

Netherlands, province: Limburg

15 IX 2024 / RKVV IVS - RKASV 1-1 / District South II, Regional Cup - group stage, group 2-44

Timeline

1917 / Foundation of a football club in the hamlet Berg aan de Maas in the southern half of the Netherlands’ part of Limburg, which is given the name Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging (RKVV) ‘In Vriendschap Sterk’ (IVS, literally translated: Strong in Friendship), with the founding meeting being held at a local pub, Café Léen Meeks-Demandt. The initiative to form a club was taken by two local schoolmasters – and much against the wishes of the local priest, Fr Cremers, who feared a decrease in the number of village inhabitants present at the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, held on Sunday afternoons. Dolf Simonis takes on the role as the club’s first chairman. Joining the Roman-Catholic league association RKLVB (Roomsch-Katholieke Limburgsche Voetbalbond), a sub-branch of the RKF (Roomsch-Katholieke Federatie), a rival federation to the official Netherlands’ FA (NVB, later KNVB). RKVV IVS plays its football on a pitch laid out on a plot of farmland owned by the Passue family, referred to locally as Terrein De Weerdt – situated right on the boards of the River Meuse. For the 1919-20 season, RKVV IVS is placed in RKLVB Division 2.
± 1918 / Foundation of a rival club in Berg aan de Maas, RKVVB (Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging Berg). It is unclear which league association (RK)VVB was a member of in the first fourteen-odd years of its existence. It is unclear as well where VVB’s ground was situated.
1919 / Foundation of a club in the hamlet of Nattenhoven, in the immediate vicinity of Berg aan de Maas; this new club takes on the name NVC (Nattenhovensche Voetbalclub). Like IVS, NVC was a member of the RKLVB. It is unclear where NVC’s ground was situated.
1922 / In a reorganisation of the RKLVB league pyramid, RKVV IVS is placed in RKLVB Division 1.
1923 / Following a brawl during the match between RKVV IVS and Suëstra from nearby Susteren, both clubs are expelled from the RKLVB. In the following three years, IVS puts its activities on the backburner, however without folding.
1926 / RKVV IVS is accepted back into the fold of the RKLVB after a three-year bar. Moving away from Terrein De Weerdt, the club settles at a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein Graetheide, across the street from the farmstead owned by the Hensberg family.
± 1927 / Moving away from Terrein Graetheide, RKVV IVS settles at a newly laid-out pitch at Ollenweg – on a plot of farmland owned by the Van den Bongard family.
± 1928 / Moving away from Terrein Ollenweg, RKVV IVS moves back to Terrein De Weerdt – although the pitch is not laid out in exactly the same location as it had been in the years 1917-23. The pitch is shared with derby rivals NVC from nearby Nattenhoven.
1929 / Champions in RKLVB Division 1, 5 points ahead of closest rivals FC RIA, RKVV IVS wins promotion to RKLVB Overgangsklasse – the highest RKLVB division below the nationwide divisions organised by the RKF. In the following eleven seasons, RKVV IVS stays a regular feature at the Overgangsklasse level. Also in or around 1929, rival club NVC folds, ceasing all activities.
1932 / A new club is founded in Nattenhoven, VVN (Voetbalvereeniging Nattenhoven). It is unclear where VVN’s pitch was situated. Also in 1932, IVS's village rivals RKVVB joins the RKLVB.
1933 / Abandoning Terrein De Weerdt, RKVV IVS settles at a newly laid-out pitch situated at Koningsberg, bordering a local gravel pit, Kiezelhoeve. Due to the dig site moving ever closer to the pitch, the club is constrained to lay out its pitch anew on several occasions in the following three decades. Due to its proximity to the pit, the pitch is referred to locally as the Kiezelkuil (literally translated: Gravel Pit).
1934 / Having spent the last two years of its existence in the ranks of the RKLVB, IVS's village rival RKVVB folds, ceasing all activities.
1939 / After an existence of seven years as an independent club, VVN from nearby Nattenhoven is absorbed into RKVV IVS. Also in 1939, IVS changes its colours from red/black to green/white to avoid being associated with the hugely unpopular Netherlands’ nazi party, NSB, which also happens to have red and black as its colours.
1940 / Having spent the first 23 years of its existence in the RKLVB (RKF), RKVV IVS is now constrained to make the step to the official Netherlands’ FA (renamed NVB following the German oppression of the Netherlands, abandoning the royal epithet ‘koninklijk’ for obvious reasons) as all other football associations are abolished by German occupation authorities. For the 1940-41 season, the club is placed in District South’s Sunday League 4C.
1947 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 4 points ahead of runners-up and derby rivals RKVV Urmondia, RKVV IVS qualifies for a promotion-relegation play-off against a League 3 bottom club, RKVV ADVEO, winning the tie 9-4 on aggregate and thus acceding to Sunday League 3 for the first time. The successful coach is Frans de Bruyn.
1953 / Finishing in joint last place in District South II’s Sunday League 3C with PSV ’35, RKVV IVS meets the club from Posterholt in a relegation play-off – going on to suffer a defeat in that encounter and thus dropping back into Sunday League 4.
1958 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4D, 2 point ahead of closest rivals RKVV Obbicht, RKVV IVS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it eventually loses out against SV Langeberg in a tie-break match played at a neutral venue in Sittard (5-2) – thus missing out on a return to Sunday League 3. Also in 1958, floodlights are placed at Terrein De Kiezelkuil.
1959 / Coached by Karel Muyris, RKVV IVS clinches the title in District South II’s Sunday League 4D for the second year in a row, 7 points ahead of closest followers vv SVM and without suffering a single defeat all season. In the promotion play-offs, IVS has the better of vv Berg ’28 (6-4 aggr.), RKSV Wit-Groen VC (5-4 aggr.), and vv Laura (12-4 aggr.), resulting in the club managing a return to Sunday League 3 after an absence of six seasons. In its first season back at this level, the club manages a respectable second place in the final table.
1961 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 3A, 8 points ahead of closest followers RKHSV, RKVV IVS accedes to Sunday League 2 for the first time.
1963 / Coached by Mr Heyenrath, RKVV IVS finishes bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 2A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 3 after two seasons.1966 / Having been given notice that its lease of Terrein De Kiezelkuil will be terminated, RKVV IVS concludes a deal with Urmond’s municipal authorities, which lay out a new sports park for the club at Kanaalweg. Although the construction works have not been finished yet in 1966, the club already moves most of its activities to the new park, the projected Sportpark Nederheide, that year.
1967 / Official inauguration of Sportpark Nederheide by Urmond’s mayor Coenders on June 3rd, 1967, with the local priest, Fr J. Janssen, blessing the new clubhouse as well as the two pitches. Subsequently, a gala match is played, in which RKVV IVS entertains the team of vv RIOS ’31 which crowned itself non-league champion of the Netherlands in 1965, surprisingly managing a 3-3 draw against this strong opposition. Further underlining the high-profile nature of the event, RKSV Sittardia and Netherlands’ national team player Willy Dullens is invited to perform the symbolic kick-off of the match.
1969 / Finishing in second-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 3A, RKVV IVS drops back into Sunday League 4 after ten years, along with bottom club RKVVL.
1980 / Having been a relatively anonymous also-ran in Sunday League 4 in the 1970s, RKVV IVS comes close to the title in District South II’s Sunday League 4D now, finishing as runners-up, only 3 points behind champions RKSV De Ster.
1984 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 4D – in spite of changing coach three times in the course of the season – RKVV IVS is retrograded into the ranks of the so-called LVB (Limburgse Voetbalbond, alternatively referred to as Afdeling Limburg), the league association organising football in Limburg below the level of Sunday League 4, along with the club finishing second from bottom, RKVV Havantia. It is the first time IVS descends to this lowly level.
1985 / Coached by a new trainer, Math Wessels, RKVV IVS finishes as runners-up in LVB Division 1, reaching the final of the play-offs subsequently, but suffering defeat in that match at the hands of DBSV in front of some 700 spectators – and thus missing out on an immediate return to League 4. Also in 1985, new dressing rooms are constructed at Sportpark Nederheide.
1986 / Champions in LVB Division 1G with coach Math Wessels, RKVV IVS wins promotion back to Sunday League 4.
1987 / Still coached by Math Wessels, RKVV IVS is unable to cope with the level of League 4 football, finishing in last place in District South II’s Sunday League 4D and dropping back into the ranks of the LVB along with the club finishing second from bottom, RKVV De Leeuw.
1989 / Champions in LVB Division 1 with coach Math Wessels, RKVV IVS wins promotion to Sunday League 4. The decisive points were clinched on the last day of the season in a victory over SV Limburgia Reserves (3-2).
1991 / Runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4D, 9 points behind champions vv Sanderbout, RKVV IVS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in the group stage against RKVV Mariarade and (winners) SV Coriovallum.
1992 / Finishing in third place District South II’s Sunday League 4E, RKVV IVS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club suffers defeat in the final at the hands of SV EMS in the most bitter of ways – in a penalty shoot-out – in front of a crowd of some 1,000 spectators.
1993 / Coached by Piet Aussems, RKVV IVS crowns itself champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4E, 9 points ahead of runners-up RKSVW. To celebrate the success, MVV is invited to Sportpark Nederheide for a post-season gala match (0-8).
1996 / Coached by Jan Vleugels, RKVV IVS clinches the title in District South II’s Sunday League 3A, 4 points ahead of closest rivals RKSV Leonidas-W, thus acceding to Sunday League 4 for the first time in more than thirty years.
1997 / RKVV IVS signs former Fortuna Sittard defender Mario Eleveld as its coach. Eleveld stays on only for one season, in which the club finishes in third place in Sunday League 2H, but fails to win promotion in the play-offs.
1999 / Coached by Rob Lemmens, RKVV IVS wins the title in Sunday League 2H, a staggering 11 points ahead of closest followers RKVV Volharding. As such, the club accedes to Sunday League 1, the fourth tier of the Netherlands’ football pyramid, for the first time.
2000 / Going from strength to strength, RKVV IVS, still coached by Rob Lemmens, wins its second title in a row, finishing 4 points ahead of RKWSV Wilhelmina ’08 in Sunday League 1D. As such, the club wins promotion to Zondag Hoofdklasse, the highest level of the Netherlands’ non-league pyramid. Also in 2000, IVS reaches the semifinal of District South II’s Regional Cup, in which it is eliminated by SV Panningen following a penalty shoot-out. Already by this stage, however, the astonishing success of the club is overshadowed by regular press publications about dark money and tax arrears.
2001 / Coached by a new trainer, John Vranken, who took with him many players from Belgium, RKVV IVS manages the best result in the club’s history, a seventh place in Zondag Hoofdklasse B – only 12 points behind champions JVC Cuijk. IVS’ player Math van Dijk is chosen as best Sunday league player in the Netherlands.
2002 / RKVV IVS qualifies for the Netherlands’ Cup (KNVB-Beker) for the first and only time in its history. In the group stage, IVS surprises everyone by finishing in first place, ahead of professional league sides MVV and Fortuna Sittard, as well as EHC. In R1, the club draws an away match against ACV, in which it is eliminated (1-0).
2003 / Coached by John Vranken’s successor, former MVV midfielder Jean Maas, who takes with him several former professional league players – including, most prominently, Hans Visser (formerly AZ, SBV Vitesse, MVV, FC Utrecht, KRC Harelbeke, and FC Groningen) – RKVV IVS finishes in second-last place in Zondag Hoofdklasse B, thus dropping out of the third level of the Netherlands’ football pyramid after three years and descending into Sunday League 1 along with bottom club vv Terneuzen.
2004 / Coached by former MVV, Fortuna Sittard, and SC Eindhoven midfielder Huub Driessen, RKVV IVS is unable to stop the rot, finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 1D and suffering defeat in the promotion-relegation play-offs against SV Someren (1-0). As such, the club suffers its second relegation in a row, dropping back into Sunday League 2 along with direct drop-outs RKWSV Wilhelmina ’08 and vv Sittard.
2005 / Coached by Rob Lemmens, who returned to the club, RKVV IVS, pressed down by a huge amount of debts incurred in the previous decade due to signing expensive players and trainers, finishes in last place in Sunday League 2G with only 3 points obtained in the entire season, thus suffering its third relegation in a row and dropping back into Sunday League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last position, NEC ’92.
2007 / Coached by Herman Vranken, RKVV IVS finishes in last place in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, descending into Sunday League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Holtum. This constitutes the club’s fourth relegation in five seasons.
2009 / Finishing in second-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, RKVV IVS descends into Sunday League 5 for the first time in club history, along with bottom club RKVV ADVEO. This constitutes the club’s fifth relegation in seven seasons.
2010 / Finally able to compete in the higher reaches of a competition for the first time in years, RKVV IVS finishes in third place in District South II’s Sunday League 5C, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which it is eliminated in a group against vv Born and (winners) RKVV ADVEO.
2011 / Runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 5C, 2 points behind champions vv Susterse Boys, RKVV IVS qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club finishes top of a group with vv Born and SVM. As such, IVS wins promotion to Sunday League 4.
2012 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, RKVV IVS drops back into League 5 after just one season, along with the club finishing in second-last position, vv Susterse Boys.
2014 / Finishing in second-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 5C, RKVV IVS descends into League 6 for the first time in club history, along with bottom club SVE.
2015 / In spite of only finishing in eighth place in District South II’s Sunday League 6B, RKVV IVS is placed in League 5 for the new season following the elimination of League 6 in the South II District.
2017 / After two years of mutually satisfying cooperation, RKVV IVS merges its youth academy with neighbour club RKVV Urmondia, thus founding SJO UBC (Samenwerking Jeugdopleidingen Urmond-Berg-Combinatie).
2022 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 5B, 1 point ahead of closest rivals vv Sanderbout, RKVV IVS wins promotion to Sunday League 4.
2023 / Runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 14 points behind runaway champions RKSV Olympia Schinveld, RKVV IVS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club edges past RKVV Voerendaal in the semis (2-2 & penalty shoot-out), only to be knocked out in the final by SCG (5-1).
2024 / Finishing in twelfth place in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, RKVV IVS has to play a promotion-relegation play-off to avoid being retrograded – going on to win the tie against KSV Horn (3-1 aggr.) and thus staying up in League 4.

Note – Much of the information above was derived from two booklets, published on the occasion of IVS’ 60th and 90th anniversaries respectively, ‘IVS 1917-1977’ by J.H. Strijkers & L.W.I. Vaessen; and ‘Jubileumgids 2007. 90 jaar RKVV IVS’, by Wim ter Haar. Thanks to IVS club icon Wim ter Haar for putting at my disposal these priceless sources of information.