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LATEST UPDATE - vv PEKELDER BOYS / RUTGER OLDEBOOM-SPORTPARK, BOVEN PEKELA (NETHERLANDS)

NETHERLANDS: vv Pekelder Boys

Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark, Boven Pekela (vv Pekelder Boys)

Netherlands, province: Groningen

3 XI 2024 / vv Pekelder Boys - vv Alteveer 1-3 / District North, Sunday League 5C (= NL level 10)

Timeline

• 1931 / In Boven Pekela, a peat excavation colony in the eastern part of the Province of Groningen, a football club is founded, which is given the name vv Pekelder Boys, with the club’s first board consisting of Chris Funk, Leo Ahlers, and Ebbo Norder. The club rents a plot of farmland from the Bunk family at Wildeplaats in Zuiderkolonie (the southern hamlet of Boven Pekela), where a pitch is laid out. vv Pekelder Boys joins the so-called GVB, Groninger Voetbalbond, Groningen’s sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (KNVB), organising all football in Groningen below the level of District North’s Sunday League 3 – with no League 4 being organised in this district until after World War II. For the 1931-32 season, vv Pekelder Boys is placed in GVB Division 3C.
• 1933 / After two years at Terrein Bunk, vv Pekelder Boys lays out a new pitch on a plot of farmland owned by Jan Klooster, a local smallholder. The new pitch is also situated at Wildeplaats in Zuiderkolonie.
• 1936 / After an independent existence of five seasons, vv Pekelder Boys concludes a merger with vv Jupiter from nearby Nieuwe Pekela, resulting in the foundation of vv PJC (Pekelder Boys-Jupiter-Combinatie). The new club settles at Terrein Tunteler, a pitch situated at the crossroads of modern-day Ontsluitingsweg and Jacob de Weerdstraat in Nieuwe Pekela. Effectively, this heralds the end of football in Boven Pekela for the following ten years.
• 1946 / After the hardships of World War II and the end of the German occupation of the Netherlands, a new football club is founded in Boven Pekela, which takes on the exact name of its predecessor, vv Pekelder Boys, with the first board consisting of Jan Siepel, Joost Mellies, and Reint Nieboer. The club is placed in GVB Division 3D Branch II for the 1946-47 season. The club rents a plot of land from a local smallholder, Hugo Prins, but the pitch can only be laid out after the potato harvest in October – the result being that the club plays only away matches in the first stages of the season, making its home debut on October 25th, 1946, with a 3-1 home win over vv Veendam 5. Terrein Hugo Prins is situated at Tilstraat in Noorderkolonie, with the players having to change clothes in the nearby Café Huls, which also serves as clubhouse in the first years of the club’s existence.
• 1947 / vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to GVB Division 2 in its first season. An entrance booth is added to the set-up at Terrein Hugo Prins.
• 1949 / vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to GVB Division 1.
• 1956 / Runners-up in GVB Division 1, vv Pekelder Boys qualifies for the play-offs for promotion to KNVB Sunday League 4, but the club fails to accede to that level.
• 1960 / Having spent the first fourteen years of its existence in the ranks of the GVB, vv Pekelder Boys now accedes to District North’s Sunday League 4 for the first time. Also in 1960, vv Pekelder Boys purchases a plot of farmland from a local smallholder, Mr Wever, in Noorderkolonie, having in mind to move its activities there from Terrein Hugo Prins in the following year. 
• 1961 / With a pitch and dressing rooms being put in place at Terrein Wever, vv Pekelder Boys’ new home ground is inaugurated officially by Nieuwe Pekela’s mayor, T. Evenhuis, on September 2nd, 1961. Subsquently, a gala match is played between vv Pekelder Boys and derby rivals vv PJC on this pitch, still in use today as the Pekelder Boys’ second pitch. Unsurprisingly, the match is won by vv PJC, which plays its football in Sunday League 1 – the highest non-league level – at the time (0-4).
• 1963 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 1 point ahead of runners-up vv Bellingwolde, vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to Sunday League 3 for the first time. The title is clinched in a 4-0 home win against vv Nieuweschans.
• 1966 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3D, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into League 4 after three seasons.
• 1967 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 3 points ahead of closest followers vv BNC, vv Pekelder Boys manages an immediate return to Sunday League 3.
• 1969 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3D, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into League 4 after two seasons.
• 1971 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 4G, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into the ranks of the GVB after eleven years. 
• 1972 / vv Pekelder Boys finishes as runners-up in GVB Division 1B, 3 points behind champions and derby rivals vv PJC, thus missing out on an immediate return to Sunday League 4.
• 1973 / Champions in GVB Division 1B, 1 point ahead of closest rivals SV Drieborg, vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to Sunday League 4. Subsequently, the club also clinches the honorary title of GVB champions following a 3-0 win over GVB Division 1A winner vv ASTREA in an encounter played at vv Muntendam’s ground. Thereupon, the club qualifies for an extra title competition against the other title winners at this level in District North, TVC ’28 (TVB), vv WKE (DVB), RKVV Bakhuizen (FVB), and SV Raalte (NCVB), in which the club finishes in third place, with TVC ’28 walking away as winners.
• 1974 / Coached by Jacob Loer, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in joint last place in District North’s Sunday League 4G with vv NOVO, meeting the club from Nieuwolda in a tie-break match, played at vv Bato’s Sportpark Sint-Vitusholt. With some 1,200 spectators attending, vv NOVO wins the encounter 1-0, as a result of which vv Pekelder Boys drops back into GVB Division 1 after just one season.
• 1975 / Works get underway on a new clubhouse for vv Pekelder Boys at Terrein Wever. This clubhouse – still in place today, is constructed at Noorderkolonie, not adjacent to the club’s sole pitch, as the farmstead of Rutger ‘Rotgerd’ Oldeboom, is situated in between. Rutger ‘Rotgerd’ Oldeboom is a hermit living in an old farmstead bordering vv Pekelder Boys’ sports park. Oldeboom, referred to in the local dialect as Rödde, was regarded as the Netherlands’ last hermit. Relations between him and the club were not been particularly warm, even though the eccentric man was offered a free meatball from the club’s canteen now and again, whenever a ball – a football, in this case – had been kicked onto his territory.
• 1976 / Finishing in joint first place in GVB Division 1B, vv Pekelder Boys loses a tie-break match for the title against SV Blauw-Geel ’15, thus missing out on promotion. Also in 1976, on November 4th of that year, Rutger Oldeboom passes away at the age of 92. The club decides to buy the land from Oldeboom’s heirs to lay out a second pitch, situated to the south of the sole pitch the club had disposed of since the early 1960s.
• 1977 / Finishing in joint first place in GVB Division 1B with vv Oosterhoek, vv Pekelder Boys meets that club in a tie-break match played at SC Scheemda’s ground, with the encounter finishing 0-0 A.E.T. (att. 900). In a second match on the same location, vv Oosterhoek eventually wins out (2-0 A.E.T.). vv Pekelder Boys gets a new chance in a lucky-loser final against vv Eenrum, runners-up in GVB Division 1A, due to an extra promotion place being available. However, the encounter against that club, played at vv Harkstede’s ground, results in another defeat (3-0). As such, vv Pekelder Boys misses out on a return to Sunday League 4 yet again. Also in 1977, vv Pekelder Boys’ new pitch is inaugurated, with the club moving first team football to this pitch – where it has been played ever since. Honouring the memory of Rutger Oldeboom, the club decides to name its park at Noorderkolonie after him, the Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark.
• 1978 / Finishing in joint first place in GVB Division 1B for the third (!) year running, this time tying for first place with vv Sellingen, vv Pekelder Boys meets that club in a tie-break match, played at ASVB’s Sportpark Blijham, losing the encounter 3-1 and thus missing out on promotion for the umpteenth time. Also in 1978, new dressing rooms are added to the set-up at the Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark.
• 1979 / After three years of tying for first place in GVB Division 1B, vv Pekelder Boys now crowns itself as sole champions in this division, clinching the decisive points in a match against SGV. As such, vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to Sunday League 4 after an absence of five years at that level. Moreover, the club also wins the GVB championship title, defeating D1A champions vv De Vogels.
• 1983 / Finishing in joint tenth place in District North’s Sunday League 4H with vv Bareveld, vv Pekelder Boys, coached by Jack Geerdes, meets that club in a tie-break match at vv Veelerveen’s ground (att. 800), with vv Bareveld walking away as winners (2-0). As a result, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into the ranks of the GVB.
• 1984 / Finishing in second place in GVB Division 1B, with an equal number of points as champions vv Heiligerlee, but with an inferior goal difference, vv Pekelder Boys wins automatic promotion to Sunday League 4 due to extra promotion places being available. The decisive points are clinched in a 2-0 away win at vv Woltersum.
• 1985 / Finishing in joint tenth place in District North’s Sunday League 4H, vv Pekelder Boys has to play a tie-break match to assure itself of a prolonged stay at that level. Meeting vv Bareveld at vv Veendam 1894’s Sportpark De Langeleegte Noord – with a sole Arnold de Groot goal deciding the match to the advantage of the club from Boven Pekela. As such, vv Pekelder Boys staves off relegation. 
• 1986 / Celebrating its fortieth anniversary, vv Pekelder Boys plays a gala match at the Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark against Belgian side KV Mechelen, coached by Aad de Mos at the time. In front of a crowd of 550 spectators, vv Pekelder Boys takes the lead with a Wubbo Luth goal, with the match eventually finishing in an emphatic 1-12 win for the Belgian professionals. KV Mechelen’s side included the likes of Leo Clijsters, Walter Meeuws, Erwin Koeman, Wim Hofkens, Graeme Rutjes, and Piet den Boer. Nevertheless, in spite of the celebrations of reaching this milestone, the 1980s are a difficult decade for vv Pekelder Boys, as the club is marred by financial problems and conflicts within the board, resulting in part of the membership turning its back. Only after years of economising, the club eventually masters the situation in the early 1990s. 
• 1993 / vv Pekelder Boys finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 2 points behind champions vv SPW. In the subsequent round of promotion play-offs, the club wins the group stage, finishing ahead of vv BNC and vv Gasselternijveen – only to suffer defeat in the final against DVC ’59, played at vv Valthermond’s Sportpark De Meent (2-1).
• 1996 / vv Pekelder Boys finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 5 points behind champions vv STA, missing out on promotion in the subsequent play-off rounds. Also in 1996, a covered terrace for 400 spectators is added to the set-up at the Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark.
• 1999 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4E, 1 point ahead of closest followers vv Gieten, vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to Sunday League 3, heralding a return to that level after an absence of thirty years. The successful coach is Henk van der Vlag.
• 2000 / In the best season in club history, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in fifth place in District North’s Sunday League 3C under the aegis of coach Henk van der Vlag. In the first five matches of the season, goalkeeper Herman Tieck does not concede a single goal.
• 2001 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3B with coach Henk van der Vlag, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Gasselternijveen.
• 2002 / Still coached by Henk van der Vlag, vv Pekelder Boys finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4E, 1 point behind champions vv Bato, failing to win promotion in the subsequent play-off rounds.
• 2005 / Finishing in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 4E, vv Pekelder Boys descends into Sunday League 5 along with bottom club TEVV. After the season, coach Henk van der Vlag leaves the club.
• 2006 / Coached by Roel Muskee, vv Pekelder Boys clinches the title in District North’s Sunday League 5E, 4 points ahead of runners-up vv Nieuweschans. As such, the club manages an immediate return to Sunday League 4.
• 2009 / Coached by Henk Oosterwold, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in eleventh place in District North’s Sunday League 4D, going on to suffer defeat in a promotion-relegation play-off and thus descending into League 5 along with vv Bato, FVV, and bottom club vv Borgercompagnie.
• 2010 / Finishing in fifth place in District North’s Sunday League 5F with coach Henk Oosterwold, vv Pekelder Boys qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club wins the group stage against vv VIOS (O) (2-2) and vv Surhuisterveen (4-3). In the final, vv Pekelder Boys also has the better of vv Froombosch (0-2), resulting in the club winning promotion to Sunday League 4.
• 2013 / Finishing in third place in District North’s Sunday League 4D, vv Pekelder Boys qualifies for a promotion-relegation play-off, in which the club is defeated by League 3 club vv Wildervank (3-3 A.E.T. & penalties), thus being deprived of promotion.
• 2014 / Finishing in fourth place in District North’s Sunday League 4D, vv Pekelder Boys qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Suffering a 3-4 aggr. defeat against vv Zuidlaarderveen in R1, the club get the opportunity to play a lucky-loser play-off, but this match is lost as well, with vv Dronrijp walking away with a ticket for Sunday League 3 (3-0).
• 2017 / Finishing in twelfth place in District North’s Sunday League 4C, vv Pekelder Boys has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs to avoid dropping back into League 5. Suffering defeat in R1 against vv Harkstede (5-1 aggr.), the club is handed the opportunity to play a lucky-loser play-off, winning the tie against vv Bareveld (3-0 aggr.) and thus eventually securing a prolonged stay in League 4.
• 2018 / Coached by Bert Brugge, vv Pekelder Boys finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 4C, thus dropping back into Sunday League 5 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Alteveer.
• 2019 / Coached by Tonny Huft, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in third place in District North’s Sunday League 5E, thus qualifying for the play-offs. Successively defeating vv Meeden (5-0) and vv Wijster (0-3), the club manages an immediate return to Sunday League 4.
• 2022 / Coached by Ard Leeraar, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 4C, thus dropping back into League 5 along with vv Farmsum and bottom club FVV.

Note – Much of the information above was derived from the book “50 jaar voetbalvereniging Pekelder Boys in Boven Pekela 1946-1996”, by Harry Becker / Gertie Beikes / Chris Lubben / Rient Nieboer / Peter Nieboer, and published by the club on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary in 1996.

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

NETHERLANDS: SV THOS

Abel van der Laan-Sportpark, Beerta (SV THOS)

Netherlands, province: Groningen

3 XI 2024 / SV THOS - vv Westerwolde Reserves 1-2 / District North, Reserves League 5-12

Timeline

• 1920 / Foundation of a first football club in Beerta, which is given the name Zwart-Wit. Later that same year, upon joining the newly founded Oost-Groninger Voetbalbond, also known as the Voetbalbond Oostelijk Groningen (VBOG), the club takes on a new name, Voetbalvereeniging ‘Tot Heil Onzer Spieren’, abbreviated as vv THOS. The club starts its activities on a pitch laid out alongside the Beertsterdiep, on a plot of farmland rented to the club by a local smallholder, Mr Brandsma.
• ± 1921 / Foundation of a rival club in Beerta, BVC (Beertase Voetbalclub), which also joins the VBOG, groundsharing with vv THOS at Terrein Brandsma.
• ± 1922 / Foundation of a third club in Beerta, Take Care, although it has to be pointed out that the membership of Take Care mainly consisted of inhabitants of the countryside area around Beerta proper. Like the two other clubs in the village, Take Care joins the VBOG. It is unclear where Take Care’s pitch was situated.
• ± 1923 / As Terrein Brandsma has to be vacated, vv THOS and BVC have to look out for new locations for their home matches. BVC moves to a pitch laid out on a plot of farmland not far from the toll booth situated in Beerta-West at the time. vv THOS, on the other hand, finds a temporary new home on a plot of land not far from Café Hilgenga (the former Café Ankes) on the southern outskirts of the village. Café Hilgenga, known at the time as the gathering place of Beerta’s leftist movement – with communism quickly spreading among local agricultural workers in the northeastern corner of the Province of Groningen – is used as clubhouse and dressing room.
• ± 1924 / BVC folds, ceasing all activities, leaving vv THOS and Take Care as the two football clubs for youths in Beerta.
• 1925 / As the Voetbalbond Oostelijk Groningen ceases all activities, all remaining member clubs, including vv THOS, join the so-called Groninger Voetbalbond (GVB), the Groningen sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, later renamed KNVB).
• ± 1926 / Moving away from the temporary pitch near Café Hilgenga, vv THOS settles on a newly laid-out pitch on a plot of farmland owned by a local landholder, Benjamin de Levie. Benjamin de Levie, who is of Jewish ancestry, would later fall victim to the murderous German occupation regime, being deported to Auschwitz III (Monowitz), where he dies at the age of 65 in 1942.
• ± 1928 / After an existence of some six years, Take Care folds, ceasing all activities – leaving vv THOS as Beerta’s only football club.
• ± 1931 / vv THOS wins the title in GVB Division 1, as a result of which the club has the right of promotion to KNVB District North’s (Sunday) League 3 – with no League 4 being organised in this district until after the German occupation years. However, due to the club not disposing of dressing rooms in situ, a KNVB requirement, with Terrein De Levie not having the correct measurements for the KNVB divisions either – and vv THOS’ board not having in mind to move to a location offering the possibility of laying out a larger pitch – a part of the club’s players leaves the club, forming a breakaway club with the name vv Beerta. vv Beerta settles on the pitch formerly used by Take Care (location unknown).
• ± 1933 / Moving away from Terrein De Levie, vv THOS settles on a newly laid-out pitch not far from Café Hilgenga – not far from the location used by the club in the mid-1920s. 
• ± 1934 / After an existence of some years only, vv Beerta folds, ceasing all activities. Part of its membership returns to vv THOS. 
• 1935 / Now having the disposal of a pitch in conformity with KNVB requirements, following a second title in GVB Division 1, vv THOS finally makes the leap from the ranks of the GVB to KNVB District North’s (Sunday) League 3 (with no League 4 existing in District North until after World War II).
• 1936 / In its first season in District North’s Sunday League 3C, vv THOS manages a sensational second place, finishing 4 points behind champions vv Zuidbroek.
• 1937 / vv THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3C for the second year in a row, finishing 3 points behind champions SC Scheemda.
• 1942 / vv THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3D, 4 points behind champions vv Zuidbroek.
• 1943 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 3D, 6 points ahead of runners-up SC Scheemda, vv THOS is deprived of the opportunity to win promotion to League 2 due to no title play-offs being held after the 1942-43 season due to organisational problems during the ongoing occupation of the Netherlands’ by Nazi Germany.
• 1944 / Yet again winning the title in District North’s Sunday League 3D, this time finishing 2 points ahead of closest followers vv Delfzijl, vv THOS nevertheless does not accede to League 2 – either due to no promotion play-offs being held or due to not being successful in those play-offs. 
• ± 1947 / Moving away from Terrein Café Hilgenga, vv THOS settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Hoofdstraat, consisting of one pitch for matches (current Pitch 2 of the park) as well as a training pitch situated somewhat further northward. 
• 1949 / As vv THOS absorbs Gymnastiekvereniging Beerta, the local gymnastics club founded around 1900, the club changes its name to become Sportvereniging (SV) THOS. Also in 1949, the club’s first team undertakes a summer tour in Denmark, playing two friendly matches against clubs from the Nykøbing Mors region.
• 1951 / SV THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3D, 2 points behind champions FVV.
• 1956 / sv THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3D, 9 points behind champions vv Neptunia.
• 1957 / Coached by Mr Ten Berge, SV THOS wins the title in District North’s Sunday League 3D, 2 points ahead of vv ZNC, failing to win promotion in the subsequent title play-offs.
• 1964 / Finishing in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 3D, SV THOS descends into Sunday League 4 for the first time, along with bottom club vv Kwiek. This heralds the end of an uninterrupted spell of 29 years of League 3 football.
• 1965 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 2 points ahead of closest rivals vv Westerwolde, SV THOS wins promotion to Sunday League 3 after just one year.
• 1966 / SV THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3D, 3 points behind champions vv Zuidlaren.
• ± 1968 / An additional pitch is laid out at Terrein Hoofdstraat, situated to the south of the main pitch. Upon completion of the works, SV THOS moves its first team football to this new pitch – still the club’s main pitch today.
• 1973 / SV THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 3D, 7 points behind champions vv Helpman. Also in 1973, a new floodlight installation is inaugurated at Terrein Hoofdstraat. Meanwhile, works get underway on a new clubhouse, including a boardroom and dressing rooms, a design by Beerta’s municipal architect, J. Berghuis.
• 1974 / Inauguration of SV THOS’s new clubhouse at Terrein Hoofdstraat, with the inaugural ceremony being performed by Beerta’s mayor, J.G. Voslamber.
• 1975 / Coached by J. Dalmolen, SV THOS conquers the title in District North’s Sunday League 3D, finishing 3 points ahead of closest followers vv WEO. As such, the club wins promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first time.
• 1978 / In the most successful season in club history, SV THOS, coached by M. van Donderen, finishes in fourth place in District North’s Sunday League 2B, with only reputed non-league clubs SV Twedo, vv WKE, and Achilles 1894 picking up more points than the side from Beerta. Also in 1978, former SV THOS youth academy player, striker Jurrie Koolhof, makes his debut as a professional league player with SC Veendam at the age of 18. Koolhof goes on to defend the colours of AVC Vitesse, PSV, FC Groningen, SBV Vitesse, BV De Graafschap, and BV Veendam, hanging up his boots in 1994. Koolhof also won five caps for the Netherlands’ national side in 1982-83. In the years 2000-08, Jurrie Koolhof worked as a professional league coach at BV De Graafschap, BVO Emmen (assistant), AGOVV Apeldoorn, FC Dordrecht, MVV, and SC Cambuur, before turning to youth scouting and TV punditry. Succumbing to an incurable disease, Jurrie Koolhof passed away in 2019 at the age of 59. His two sons also had careers as professional sports players, the elder, Wesley, as a tennis player, and the younger, Dean, as a footballer at BV De Graafschap, MVV Maastricht, and Helmond Sport.
• 1979 / Finishing in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 2B, SV THOS, coached by Jan Broertjes – who had replaced M. van Donderen in the closing stages of the season – drops back into Sunday League 3 after two years, along with bottom club SV Bedum.
• 1980 / Among the festivities organised to celebrate SV THOS’ sixtieth anniversary, a gala match is held at Terrein Hoofdstraat, with SV THOS playing host to a team of former AFC Ajax players, including Klaas Nuninga, Jan Mulder, and Sjaak Swart.
• 1983 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3D, SV THOS drops back into Sunday League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, derby rivals vv Nieuweschans.
• 1984 / SV THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 2 points behind champions vv Bato.
• 1989 / SV THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 7 points behind champions vv ASVB.
• 1992 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 4 points ahead of closest followers vv STA, SV THOS wins promotion to Sunday League 3 after an absence of nine seasons at that level.
• 1997 / Coached by Henny Lingbeek, SV THOS finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3B, thus dropping back into League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv HSC.
• 2003 / Coached by Aike Lubben, SV THOS finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 4E. As such, the club is retrograded to Sunday League 5 for the first time in club history, being accompanied to that level by the club finishing in second-last position, vv Kwiek.
• 2008 / SV THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 5E, 9 points behind champions vv Bareveld. In the subsequent round of play-offs, the club fails to win promotion to League 4.
• 2013 / Finishing in fifth place in District North’s Sunday League 5F, SV THOS qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club finishes in last place in a group behind vv Nieuw Roden and vv Harkstede, thus failing at its attempt to return to Sunday League 4. Also in 2013, former SV THOS youth player, 19-year-old Hans Hateboer, who had left the club for BV Veendam’s youth academy several years previously, makes his debut as a professional league player at FC Groningen, going on to wear the colours of Atalanta BC (2017-24) and Stade Rennais FC (2024-) – as well as being called up several times for the Netherlands’ national team from 2018 onwards.
• 2014 / Former SV THOS board member and canteen manager Abel van der Laan passes away at the age of 83. In his honour, SV THOS’ sports park at Hoofdstraat is renamed Abel van der Laan-Sportpark. 
• 2019 / Runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 5D, 2 points behind champions vv Farmsum, SV THOS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club draws a bye in R1 before being trashed by vv Bareveld in R2 (0-9).
• 2022 / Coached by Jaap Sikkema, SV THOS finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 5C, 10 points behind champions vv Veelerveen. In the subsequent play-off rounds, SV THOS draws a bye in R1, going on to defeat vv Drieborg in R2 (3-2 A.E.T.), resulting in the club winning promotion to Sunday League 4 after an absence of 19 years at that level.
• 2023 / Having an excellent season in District North’s Sunday League 4C, SV THOS finishes in second place, 4 points behind champions vv Veelerveen. In the promotion play-offs, the club is eliminated by USV Nieuwleusen (0-1).
• 2024 / Coached by Bob Mulder, SV THOS finishes bottom of the table in its second season in District North’s Sunday League 4C (just 1 win, 7 points, goal difference: -93), suffering relegation to League 5 along with FVV, vv PJC, and vv Bareveld. Following the 2023-24 season, the club withdraws from first team football, continuing with just a reserves’ team and several recreational teams. The club makes headlines in local media in November 2024 when it announces that it is on the brink of folding due to a lack of players – leading to an immediate surge in membership, with several players from other clubs in the region joining SV THOS’ reserves’ squad.

Note – Important parts of information provided above were derived from a booklet published by SV THOS on the occasion of the club’s sixtieth anniversary, “Jubileumnummer SV THOS Beerta 60 jaar” (1980), with especially a historic article about the early club history by G.L. Siemons proving an important, yet sketchy source. If anyone can shed more light on the following unanswered questions, please get in touch with me: 

(1) In which year exactly did vv/SV THOS move to the current park at Hoofdstraat (later renamed Sportpark Abel van der Laan)? In the article above, using various oral sources, the date has been estimated at ± 1947.

(2) In which year exactly was the current main pitch added to the set-up? In the article above, using various oral sources, the date has been estimated at ± 1968.

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

NETHERLANDS: AVV ZSGO (B) (1961-1985) / AVV ZSGO (1985-1996) / AVV ZSGOWMS (1996-)

Sportpark Ookmeer - veld 14, Amsterdam Osdorp (AVV ZSGOWMS, formerly AVV ZSGO)

Netherlands, province: North Holland = Noord-Holland

2 XI 2024 / AVV ZSGOWMS (zo) - CSV BOL 1-3 / District West I, League 1A (= NL level 6)

Timeline

• 1919 / On March 1st, 1919, a football club is founded in the Frederik Hendrikbuurt, a neighbourhood situated to the west of Amsterdam’s city-centre, which takes on the name HMS (‘Houdt Moedig Stand’), which joins the AVB (Amsterdamsche Voetbalbond), Amsterdam’s sub-branch of the official Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, later KNVB), later that same year under a new name, ASC WMS (Amsterdamsche Sportclub ‘Wilskracht Maakt Sterk’), due to the name HMS already having been taken by another NVB member club from Utrecht. Later that same year, on July 1st, 1919, also in the Frederik Hendrikbuurt, ASC (‘Amsterdamsche Sportclub’) sees the daylight, founded by a group of boys which had already started playing unorganised matches on a plot of wasteland at Van Rappardstraat in the summer of 1918. Incidentally, after their foundation, (ASC) WMS as well as ASC start their life as groundsharers at Terrein Van Rappardstraat, where a sand pitch has been laid out.
• 1920 / Joining the AVB one year after its foundation, ASC is constrained to adapt its name due to this abbreviation already having been adopted by another NVB member club from Oegstgeest – and the club becomes AVV ZSGO (Amsterdamsche Voetbalvereeniging ‘Zonder Strijd Geen Overwinning’). Abandoning Terrein Van Rappardstraat, ZSGO settles on a newly laid-out grass pitch at Zuidelijke Wandelweg, situated closely to the pitch used by AFC at the time. By that time, WMS had also abandoned the sand pitch at Van Rappardstraat, settling at Terrein Vredenhof – leading a gypsy life in the following fifteen odd years, moving on to Terrein Meerlaan (Sloterdijk), Terrein Hemweg, and Terrein Ringweg. 
• ± 1923 / Moving away from Terrein Zuidelijke Wandelweg, AVV ZSGO settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Amstelveenscheweg.
• 1924 / Finishing in third place in AVB Division 2D, ZSGO is granted promotion to AVB Division 1 by co-optation – spending the next ten years of its existence at that level.
• 1927 / Abandoning Terrein Amstelveenscheweg, AVV ZSGO settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Nieuwe Kalfjeslaan.
• 1929 / Without losing a single game in the 1928-29 season in AVB Division 1, and thus easing to the title in that division, WMS wins promotion to KNVB (Sunday) League 4 for the first time. Also in 1929, ZSGO abandons Terrein Nieuwe Kalfjeslaan, settling on a newly laid-out pitch at Weesperzijde.
• 1930 / Champions in its first season in District West I’s League 4D, 4 points ahead of closest rivals JOS, WMS fails to win promotion in the subsequent round of promotion-relegation play-offs.
• ± 1931 / Abandoning Terrein Weesperzijde, ZSGO settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Amstelveenscheweg – not the same pitch where the club spent several seasons in the 1920s, but a location close to Koenenkade.
• 1932 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4B, 6 points ahead of closest followers JOS and without suffering a single defeat all season, WMS wins promotion to Sunday League 3 in the play-offs.
• ± 1933 / Abandoning Terrein Ringweg, ASC WMS settles at Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex Velserweg, a communal sports park with multiple pitches used by several clubs (including AFC DWS).
• 1934 / Winning a tie-break match against ABIM (2-1) on the pitch of fellow Amsterdam side DEC, ZSGO wins promotion to KNVB (Sunday) League 4 for the first time – but only after AVB authorities had laid aside an ABIM protest about a penalty having been withheld from that club during the match.
• 1935 / ZSGO has an excellent debut season in the ranks of the KNVB, finishing as runners-up in District West I’s League 4G, 10 points behind runaway champions LFC (Laren).
• 1936 / Abandoning Terrein Amstelveenschweg (II), where the club had spent five odd seasons, ZSGO moves away to Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex Velserweg, also used by WMS; ZSGO concludes a renting agreement for two pitches with Amsterdam’s municipal authorities.
• 1938 / Finishing in joint first place in District West I’s League 4E with vv Aalsmeer, AVV ZSGO meets that club in a tie-break match on the pitch of vv Schoten in Haarlem, going on to suffer defeat in that encounter, 3-1. As such, the club misses out on promotion to League 3.
• 1942 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 2 points ahead of runners-up APGS, ZSGO fails to win promotion in a three-way play-off against ADW and League 3 side DEC, which finishes in first place and thus avoids the drop. Qualifying for the Netherlands’ Cup (NVB-Beker) for the first (and probably only) time in its history, ZSGO eliminates League 3 team WFC Rapiditas in R1, suffering elimination at the hands of future professional league side ZFC in R2 (2-1). Also in 1942, 11-year-old Henk Vonhoff joins ZSGO as a youth member, making his mark more as a referee than as a footballer in the following decades. He later had a career as an MP for the conservative liberals, going on to serve as a secretary of state, mayor of Utrecht, and governor of Groningen. Henk Vonhoff passed away in 2010 at the age of 79.
• 1943 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4G, 9 points ahead of closest rivals APGS and without suffering a single defeat all season, ZSGO does not get the opportunity to win promotion to League 3 due to no promotion play-offs being held at the behest of the Netherlands’ Football Association. With the hardships of the German occupation of the Netherlands being felt ever more acutely, ZSGO has to abandon its two pitches at Velserweg, which are requisitioned by the German armed forces. For the 1943-44 season, the club groundshares at CSV De Geuzen.
• 1944 / Although winning no title in the 1943-44 season, ZSGO is given the opportunity to play promotion matches against 1944 League 4 champions APGS on the back of its title in 1943. After three tie-break matches, which are regularly interrupted due to air-raid alarms, APGS walks away with the ticket for League 3. Also in 1944, ZSGO allows a Saturday branch to be formed under its auspices – although the focus remains firmly on Sunday league football. In the fall of 1944 and the spring of 1945, the last stages of the German occupation of the northern half of the Netherlands, no football activities take place.
• 1945 / After the liberation of the Netherlands, ZSGO cannot return to its two pitches at Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex Velserweg for the time being, due to the area having been devastated by Allied bombers in the previous two years. In the 1945-46 season, the club groundshares at APGS, SNA, and AVV De Spartaan. 
• 1946 / Runaway champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4K, 14 points ahead of closest rivals RODI, ZSGO fails to win promotion in a round of play-offs against vv Amersfoortse Boys and BVV Baarn – with the last-mentioned club walking away with the League 3 ticket. Also in 1946, ZSGO returns to Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex Velserweg after an absence of three years, although the club is being allocated two different pitches than the ones used in the 1936-43 period.
• 1947 / Moving away from pitches 30 & 34 on Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex Velserweg after one season, ZSGO settles on pitches 7 & 11 of the same facility – renting one additional pitch, pitch 6, some years later.
• 1948 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4I, 5 points ahead of closest followers VVU (vv Uithoorn), ZSGO finally manages to win promotion to Sunday League 3 after winning a three-way play-off against LFC (Laren) and vv Amersfoortse Boys. The decisive point is clinched in a 1-1 away draw at vv Amersfoortse Boys, with wingback Wim Brouwers scoring ZSGO’s goal.
• 1950 / Finishing in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, WMS drops back into Sunday League 4 after eighteen years, along with bottom club BVC Bloemendaal. 
• 1951 / With money donated by a local benefactor, ZSGO builds itself a new clubhouse at Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex Velserweg. The premises are inaugurated by the wife of club chairman C. Snijders Snr.
• 1957 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4D, 1 point ahead of runners-up SC Muiderberg, WMS fails to win promotion in the subsequent round of play-offs.
• 1959 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, 4 points ahead of closest rivals DVAV, WMS fails to win promotion in the subsequent play-off rounds.
• 1961 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, ZSGO drops back into League 4 after thirteen years. That same year, ASC WMS as well as AVV ZSGO move away from Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex Velserweg, settling at the newly laid-out Sportpark Ookmeer in Amsterdam-Osdorp. WMS settles on the far northwestern corner of the park, adjacent to the pitches of SLTO, a club which had already moved to the new park one year previously. ZSGO finds its place directly to the south of WMS’s new ground, where the club is given the luxury of three pitches – with the southernmost of those, which it shares with RKSV DCG, becoming its main pitch for the following 24 years. Also in 1961, promising 22-year-old ZSGO midfielder Hassie van Wijk signs a professional league contract with AVV De Volewijckers, later also defending the colours of HSV ADO, Telstar, and AZ ’67 – and, after hanging up his boots, serving as Aad de Mos’ assistant coach at AFC Ajax for some time.
• 1964 / ZSGO’s clubhouse at Sportpark Ookmeer – the building still dominating the ground today, cp. photos below – is inaugurated after construction works which commenced one year previously. Unusually, the clubhouse has not been built close to the (shared) main pitch at the southern end of the park, but at the far other, northern, side. The premises are inaugurated by Amsterdam’s alderman for sports affairs, P.J. Koets.
• 1965 / A former ZSGO youth player between 1954 and 1958, winger Rob Rensenbrink, makes his professional league debut at AFC DWS. Rensenbrink goes on to wear the colours of Club Brugge KV, RSC Anderlechtois, Portland Timbers, and Toulouse FC, before hanging up his boots in 1982. Rensenbrink also won 46 caps for the Netherlands’ national team, being part of the squads which reached the 1974 and 1978 World Cup finals – with Rensenbrink (in)famously hitting the post in the last minute of regular play in the 1978 final against Argentina – and winning the bronze medal at the 1976 European Championships.
• 1966 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, WMS drops back into the ranks of the AVB after 37 years. That same year, after two years of construction works, WMS’s striking two-tiered clubhouse at Sportpark Ookmeer is inaugurated by Amsterdam’s alderman for sports affairs, A.A. Verhey. Also in 1966, two years after having won promotion to AVB Saturday Division 1, ZSGO’s Saturday team accedes to District West I’s Saturday League 4 for the first time, holding out at that level for four seasons before dropping back into the ranks of the AVB in 1968.
• 1967 / Clinching the title in AVB Division 1, WMS manages an immediate return to Sunday League 4 after just one season in the AVB divisions.
• 1968 / Having finished as runners-up in Sunday League 4 on four previous occasions in the same decade, ZSGO now finally clinches the title in District West I’s Sunday League 4C, 4 points ahead of runners-up vv Schoten. The decisive points are clinched in a home win against GVO. As such, after an absence of seven seasons, ZSGO manages a return to Sunday League 3.
• 1969 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3B, ZSGO descends back into Sunday League 4 after just one season. Also in 1969, WMS’s Herman Nobel plays his 500th match for the club’s first team, a feat later equalled by Wouter de Vries (1977) and Bep Vink (1978).
• 1971 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4D, 2 points ahead of closest rivals IVV, WMS wins promotion to Sunday League 3.
• 1972 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3B, WMS drops back into League 4 after just one season.
• 1981 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, ZSGO drops back into the ranks of the AVB after 47 years.
• 1982 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4D, WMS drops back into the ranks of the AVB after fifteen years.
• 1985 / After an absence of four seasons, ZSGO finds its way back up to Sunday League 4, winning promotion from the ranks of the AVB. That same year, the club abandons its main pitch, which is taken over by DEVO ’58 (modern-day pitch/veld 18), with first team football moving to pitch/veld 14, the pitch adjacent to ZSGO’s clubhouse. 
• 1991 / After an absence of nine seasons, WMS finds its way back up to Sunday League 4, winning promotion from the ranks of the AVB.
• 1992 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, ZSGO drops back into AVB Hoofdklasse along with the club finishing in second-last place, DJK.
• 1994 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, WMS drops back into AVB Hoofdklasse along with the club finishing in second-last place, AVV OVVO.
• 1995 / After an absence of three seasons, ZSGO finds its way back up to Sunday League 4, winning promotion from the ranks of the AVB.
• 1996 / In its last season as an independent club, ZSGO finishes in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, thus suffering relegation along with bottom club SV De Meteoor to AVB Hoofdklasse, the level where WMS spent its last two seasons. Following the 1995-96 season, after an independent existence of 77 years each, AVV ZSGO and ASC WMS conclude a merger, resulting in the foundation of AVV ZSGO-WMS (Amsterdamse Voetbalvereniging ‘Zonder Strijd Geen Overwinning-Wilskracht Maakt Sterk’) – possibly the lengthiest abbreviation in world football. Following the merger, all activities move to ZSGO’s park, with first team football being played on Sportpark Ookmeer – veld (pitch) 14. ASC WMS’s park is abandoned and later taken over by a baseball club. Following the merger, the club enters two first teams – the first in Sunday League 4, possibly due to WMS having won promotion in its last season as an independent club, as well as a Saturday team in Saturday League 7 – with the focus firmly being on Sunday league football. In the following years, the spelling of the name of the new merger club, officially AVV ZSGO-WMS or AVV ZSGO/WMS, is progressively given simply as ZSGOWMS.
• 1998 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 4E, ZSGOWMS descends into Sunday League 5.
• 1999 / ZSGOWMS wins promotion from Sunday League 5 back to Sunday League 4 after just one season. 
• 2002 / Coached by Johan van den Horn, ZSGOWMS clinches the title in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, 4 points ahead of closest followers RKAV, thus winning promotion to Sunday League 3.
• 2003 / Former ZSGOWMS youth player, 19-year-old striker Maceo Rigters, makes his professional league debut at SC Heerenveen, going on to wear the colours of FC Dordrecht, NAC Breda, Blackburn Rovers FC, Norwich City FC, Barnsley FC, Willem II, and Gold Coast United FC, ultimately withdrawing into non-league in 2012 – including a spell in ZSGOWMS’s first Sunday team. In the early stages of his career, Rigters also won 5 caps for the Netherlands’ U23 side.
• 2007 / Coached by Danny Fleming, ZSGOWMS finishes in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, descending into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club RKAVIC.
• 2009 / ZSGOWMS narrowly misses out on the title in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, finishing 1 point behind champions SV Geinburgia. The club also fails to win promotion in the subsequent play-off rounds.
• 2010 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 4 points ahead of vv Nederhorst, ZSGOWMS wins promotion to Sunday League 3. Also in 2010, the club signs Rob Rijnink as its new trainer; Rijnink had a short career as a professional league player between 1984 and 1990 at AFC Ajax, Roda JC, and VVV.
• 2011 / Coached by Rob Rijnink, ZSGOWMS clinches the title in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, 9 points ahead of SV Concordia. As such, the club wins promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first time in the history of the club and its predecessors, AVV ZSGO and ASC WMS.
• 2012 / With Rob Rijnink still in charge, ZSGOWMS finishes in twelfth place in Sunday League 2B, failing to save its skin in the subsequent promotion-relegation play-offs, in which it bows out in R1 against SV United-DAVO (6-3 aggr.). As such, the club suffers relegation to League 3 after just one season, along with DHSC, CDW, and VVZA.
• 2015 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, 4 points ahead of runners-up VVA-Spartaan, ZSGOWMS and its coach Rob Rijnink manage a return to Sunday League 2 after an absence of three seasons. 
• 2017 / Coached by Murat Böke, ZSGOWMS finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 2B, thus dropping back into League 3 along with SV United-DAVO and bottom club AFC Quick 1890.
• 2018 / Finishing in third place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, ZSGOWMS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by APWC (2-0). In the fall of 2018, the club’s main pitch on Sportpark Ookmeer (pitch/veld 14), is equipped with a synthetic surface.
• 2019 / Finishing in fourth place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, ZSGOWMS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by Zwaluwen Utrecht 1911 (2-1).
• 2022 / Coached by Rob Rijnink, who had returned to the club in 2020 after an absence of four years, ZSGOWMS finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, 1 point behind champions Sporting Martinus. In the play-offs, the club has the better of Zwaluwen Utrecht 1911 (3-1) and VVIJ (2-1) successively, thus managing a return to Sunday League 2 after an absence of five years.
• 2023 / Coached by Rob Rijnink, ZSGOWMS manages a third place in Sunday League 2B. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club successively eliminates VFC (2-0) and LSVV (1-3 A.E.T.), ultimately stumbling over JVC (Julianadorp) in the semis (0-1). Following the 2022-23 season, Rob Rijnink leaves ZSGOWMS.
• 2024 / Coached by Jethro Abram, ZSGOWMS clinches the title in Sunday League 2B, 8 points ahead of closest followers Sporting Martinus, thus winning a historic promotion to League 1, the sixth tier of the Netherlands’ football pyramid.

Note 1 – Apart from open sources and answers to my questions given by several club officials of AVV ZSGOWMS and vv DEVO ’58, information for the article above has been derived from three anniversary booklets, published by ZSGO and WMS on different club jubilees:

• “ZSGO 1919-1959”, no authors mentioned (1959);
• “ZSGO 50”, no authors mentioned (1969);
• “60 jaar Wilskracht Maakt Sterk”, by P.J. van Loon (1979).

Note 2 – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: non-matchday visit, June 2017 = pictures 3-4 / match visit, November 2024 = pictures 1-2 & 5-18.

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