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LATEST UPDATE - RKVV VOLHARDING / SPORTPARK SOETENDAAL, VIERLINGSBEEK (NETHERLANDS) 

NETHERLANDS: RKVV Volharding

Sportpark Soetendaal, Vierlingsbeek (RKVV Volharding)

Netherlands, province: North Brabant = Noord-Brabant

10 XI 2024 / RKVV Volharding - GSV '28 1-3 / District South II, League 1E (= NL level 6)

Timeline

• 1912 / Two years before the official foundation of a football club in Vierlingsbeek, there is already talk of a team, which may have been formed even somewhat earlier, perhaps in 1910 and 1911 – with the names VVV (meaning of abbreviation unclear) and Volharding being mentioned in local media. The ‘club’s’ first pitch is a plot of farmland, Terrein De Staay, on the eastern outskirts of the village.
• 1914 / Official foundation of a football club in Vierlingsbeek, which takes on the name Rooms-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging (RKVV) Volharding. The club joins a Roman-Catholic football association, the so-called Bossche Voetbalbond). Probably due to the outbreak of World War I, however, with potential players being called up for army service – although remaining neutral throughout the war, the Netherlands’ armed forces were mobilised to guard the borders – the club does not seem to have taken part in any competition in the four years after its foundation.
• 1918 / After a dormant existence of several years, RKVV Volharding is re-founded under a new name, Rood Wit, with the club joining the Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalbond (RKVB), being placed in the Maasbuurt branch. The club’s new pitch is Terrein De Vogel (exact location unclear). 
• 1920 / After having worn the name Rood Wit for two years, the old name RKVV Volharding is reinstated, probably coinciding with the moment the club joined the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, the future KNVB) after two years of playing in the Roman-Catholic RKVB. For the 1920-21 season, the club is placed in Division 1 of the so-called Noord-Brabantsche Voetbalbond (NBVB), NVB’s sub-branch in North Brabant organising league football in this province below the level of NVB (Sunday) League 3.
• 1921 / Probably after winning a title in NBVB Division 1, RKVV Volharding accedes to NVB League 3. 
• 1923 / Champions in District South’s League 3D, 3 points ahead of runners-up vv Vaals, RKVV Volharding wins promotion to NVB League 2.
• 1924 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South’s League 2C, RKVV Volharding drops back into League 3. 
• 1926 / In its last season in the ranks of the NVB, RKVV Volharding finishes in fourth place in District South’s League 3E. The club temporarily ceases its activities, fielding no team in the 1926-27 season.
• 1927 / RKVV Volharding resumes its activities, but not as a member of the neutral NVB, instead returning to Roman-Catholic football as a member of the RKVB, being placed in Division 2 South of the Maasbuurt branch of this league system. Meanwhile, the club plays its football on a new pitch, situated in the hamlet of Schafferden, to the west of Vierlingsbeek proper.
• 1928 / In its first season following the club’s return in the RKVB, RKVV Volharding clinches the title in Afdeeling Maasbuurt Division 2 South, thus winning promotion to Afdeeling Maasbuurt Division 1.
• 1934 / Possibly after a conflict of some sort, part of RKVV Volharding’s membership leaves the club, forming a breakaway club called Nooit Gedacht, which plays its football at Terrein Den Dries – however folding after just one year. In the 1930s, there are at least four other short-lived rival clubs in Vierlingsbeek; De Mortel, Fortuna, EMM, and DEVO. 
• 1936 / Under the aegis of the club’s first-ever trainer, Piet Schelbergen, RKVV Volharding clinches the title in RKVB Afdeling Maasbuurt Division 1 South, but the club does not manage to win the play-off matches for promotion to the so-called IVCB (Interdiocesane Voetbalcompetitiebond) or nationwide Roman-Catholic divisions.
• 1937 / Coached by Wiel Peeters, RKVV Volharding wins the title in RKVB Afdeling Maasbuurt Division 1 South for the second year in a row, with the club also succeeding at winning promotion to IVCB Division 3 this time around. The club stays in this division until the German occupation of the Netherlands in 1940.
• 1940 / Having spent the previous thirteen of its existence in the RKVB / IVCB, RKVV Volharding 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 3F.
• 1941 / Finishing in eighth place in District South’s (Sunday) League 3F, RKVV Volharding is retrograded to Sunday League 4 for the new season.
• 1944 / A new pitch is laid out for RKVV Volharding close to the old location in the hamlet of Schafferden. Due to tanks of the Allied forces liberating the south of the Netherlands in the fall of 1944 ravaging this pitch, however, it takes until the summer of 1945 before it is first taken in use.
• 1950 / RKVV Volharding player Wim Koelen, who had spent the three previous years away from home as part of the Netherlands’ army in the Dutch East Indies, is signed by Sunday League 1 club PSV, where he would stay for six years – without becoming a regular first team player, however.
• 1951 / RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4G, 4 points behind champions RKSV Gennep.
• 1959 / Under the aegis of Wim Koelen, who returned to RKVV Volharding as player-coach after a spell with SV TOP, RKVV Volharding clinches the title in District South II’s Sunday League 4G, finishing 1 point ahead of closest rivals RKVV Montagnards. The decisive points are clinched in an away win at RKOSV Achates. However, the club fails to secure promotion in the ensuing championship play-offs.
• 1960 / RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4H, 5 points behind champions RKOSV Achates.
• 1962 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4G, 1 point ahead of closest rivals RKVV Montagnards, RKVV Volharding wins promotion to Sunday League 3. The decisive point is clinched in an away draw at RKVV Brughusia (1-1). The team is still coached at the time by player-trainer Wim Koelen.
• 1963 / Still under the aegis of Wim Koelen, RKVV Volharding wins its second title in a row, this time finishing in first place in District South II’s Sunday League 3D, 8 points ahead of runners-up IVO. As such, the club accedes to Sunday League 2 after an absence of 59 years at this level. Also in 1963, moving away from its pitch in Schafferden, RKVV Volharding settles at the newly laid-out Sportpark Soetendaal, where it initially disposes of two pitches – later extended to the present five. The clubhouse is built in an empty factory building, previously used as an abattoir. The new park is officially inaugurated by Vierlingsbeek’s mayor, Mr Van Heusden, with Volharding’s chairman, Dr. Smets, upon which the main pitch is consecrated by the village priest, Fr Lamers. To celebrate the occasion, Sunday League 1 team SV TOP is invited for a gala match. The current main pitch has served in that capacity from the very beginning.
• 1965 / RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 2B, 1 point behind champions RKSV De Ster. Volharding loses the title on the last day of the season, suffering a 5-4 away defeat at RKTVV Tiglieja in front of a crowd of 5,000. 
• 1966 / The football club in Maashees – name unknown – is absorbed into RKVV Volharding, with the club from Vortum Mullem – name unknown as well – following suit in 1967. The pitch is Maashees remains in use for lower team football and training sessions by RKVV Volharding for some years after the absorption.
• ± 1967 / A covered stand as well as an uncovered terrace are added to the set-up at Sportpark Soetendaal – with the latter still featuring on the southern side of the main pitch.
• 1968 / RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 2B, 7 points behind champions RKVV Voerendaal.
• 1971 / A floodlight installation is put in place alongside the main pitch at Sportpark Soetendaal, with this new feature being inaugurated with a gala match against FC VVV.
• 1974 / RKVV Volharding celebrates its sixtieth anniversary with a gala match at Sportpark Soetendaal against FC VVV.
• 1976 / RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 2B, 4 points behind champions RKTVV Tiglieja.
• 1977 / RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 2B, 2 points behind champions SV Megacles. In the summer of 1977, Volharding entertains PSV in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark Soetendaal (2-4, Volharding’s goals by Geert Franssen & Karel van Laaken).
• 1978 / A new clubhouse is erected at Sportpark Soetendaal.
• 1979 / RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 2B, 1 point behind champions RKSV Blerick. Also in 1979, a new main stand is erected at Sportpark Soetendaal, with the construction being inaugurated officially in January 1980 with a gala match against Roda JC (2-4).
• 1981 / Coached by Lei Janssen, RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 2B, 3 points behind champions SV Megacles. Due to an extra promotion place being available, the club gets to play a tie-break match against RKVV Venlosche Boys. With the encounter taking place at SV Venray’s Sportpark De Wieën in front of a crowd of 3,500, RKVV Volharding eventually walks away as winners thanks to a sole Jan Cremers goal. As such, the club accedes to Sunday League 1 for the first time.
• 1983 / Coached by Toon Verdeuzeldonk, RKVV Volharding finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 1F, thus dropping back into Sunday League 2 along with bottom club vv Walram. Also in 1983, Volharding’s legendary former player-coach Wim Koelen passes away at the age of 56.
• 1984 / RKVV Volharding hosts Feyenoord Rotterdam in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark Soetendaal, suffering a 14-0 defeat. Feyenoord’s side included the likes of Ivan Nielsen, Ruud Gullit, and Simon Tahamata.
• 1985 / RKVV Volharding hosts Feyenoord Rotterdam in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark Soetendaal for the second year running, with the guests booking a 10-1 win this time. Volharding’s goal is scored by midfielder René Meulensteen. Meulensteen would go on to have a successful coaching career, assisting Alex Ferguson at Manchester United FC and also working as head coach at Brøndby IF, FC Anzhi Makhachkala, Fulham FC, and Maccabi Haifa FC.
• 1986 / Coached by Lei Janssen, RKVV Volharding clinches the title in District South II’s Sunday League 2B without suffering a single defeat all season, 6 points ahead of closest followers vv Born. The title was obtained in an away match against vv Born (2-3, goals by Geert Franssen, Tonnie Theunissen, and Toine Oudenhoven) attended by some 1,000 spectators. As such, the club manages a return to Sunday League 1 after an absence of three seasons.
• 1989 / RKVV Volharding hosts AFC Ajax in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark Soetendaal, suffering a 7-1 defeat. Ajax’s team included the likes of Jan Wouters, John van ‘t Schip, Aron Winter, and Dennis Bergkamp.
• 1990 / Still coached by Lei Janssen, RKVV Volharding manages a seventh place in Sunday League 1F – but, more importantly, the club qualifies for the promotion play-offs thanks to a good run in the last quarter of the season. In a tie-break match for one promotion spot, played at RKVV Maasbracht’s Sportpark Mortelskoel (att. 700), Volharding has the better of RKONS (2-1, goals by Manfred Jacobs & Wil Berden. As such, the club achieves a historic promotion to Zondag Hoofdklasse, the top division of the Netherlands’ non-league at the time.
• 1991 / Coached by Tonnie Theunissen, RKVV Volharding finishes in second-last place in Zondag Hoofdklasse C, thus dropping back into Sunday League 1 after just one season, along with bottom club RKVV Wilhelmina. The defeat sealing the club’s fate was suffered in an away match at vv DESK in Kaatsheuvel (4-1).
• 1992 / Finishing in third-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 1F, RKVV Volharding, still coached by Tonnie Theunissen, goes on to suffer defeat in a relegation play-off, thus experiencing its second relegation in a row, and dropping back into Sunday League 2 along with vv Sittard and bottom club RKVV Veritas.
• 1993 / Coached by Ronald Gits, RKVV Volharding wins the title in District South II’s Sunday League 2B, 4 points ahead of runners-up RKSV FCV. The decisive points were obtained in a home win over RKMSV. As such, the club manages an immediate return to Sunday League 1F.
• 1994 / RKVV Volharding wins District South II’s Regional Cup (Districtsbeker), defeating Heerlen Sport in the final, played at Sportpark Soetendaal, with the only goal of the match being scored by Peter van Rhee.
• 1995 / Having reached the semifinal of the Regional Cup in the 1994-95 season, RKVV Volharding qualifies for the Netherlands’ Cup for the first and – so far – only time in its existence. After defeating AFC in R1 (0-1, goal by Peter van Osch), the club qualifies for the group stage, in which it loses all of its matches (against SV De Treffers, Helmond Sport, and BV De Graafschap). Also in 1995, former RKVV Volharding youth player Pol van Boekel makes his debut as a professional league player at VVV, staying with that club until withdrawing into non-league at JVC Cuijk in 2000. Later on, Van Boekel made a career as a professional league referee.
• 1996 / Coached by Hans Willems, RKVV Volharding obtains the title in Sunday League 1F, 3 points ahead of closest rivals vv Eijsden. The decisive points are clinched in a 0-3 away win at SV Heerlen. As such, the club wins promotion to Zondag Hoofdklasse for the second time. Also in 1996, the clubhouse and main stand, both dating back to the 1970s, are knocked down to make way for a new, two-tiered clubhouse and main stand combined. The premises are inaugurated in August 1996 by Vierlingsbeek’s mayor Hans Dittner.
• 1997 / Coached by Hans Willems, RKVV Volharding finishes bottom of the table in Zondag Hoofdklasse B, dropping back into Sunday League 1 after just one season, along with the club finishing in second-last place, EHC.
• 1998 / Coached by Henk Evers, RKVV Volharding suffers its second relegation in a row, finishing bottom of the table in Sunday League 1C and thus descending into Sunday League 2 along with the club finishing in second-last place, RKVV Roosendaal.
• 1999 / RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 2H, 11 points behind runaway champions RKVV IVS.
• 2000 / Still coached by Henk Evers, RKVV Volharding clinches the title in Sunday League 2H, 8 points ahead of closest followers RKVV EVV. As such, the club wins promotion to Sunday League 1.
• 2001 / RKVV Volharding reaches the final of District South II’s Regional Cup for the second time. The encounter against SV Panningen is staged at RKSV Groene Ster’s Sportpark Pronsebroek, with Volharding suffering defeat after a penalty shoot-out (1-1 A.E.T., 3-4).
• 2002 / Coached by John Janssen, RKVV Volharding finishes in tenth place in Sunday League 1D, going on to suffer defeat in a relegation play-off and thus descending into Sunday League 2 along with SV Heerlen and bottom club RFC Roermond. As John Janssen leaves the club, he is replaced as trainer by former VVV professional league defender Chris Burhenne, who would stay on in this capacity for three seasons.
• 2009 / RKVV Volharding finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 2H, 7 points behind champions RKSV Sparta ’25.
• 2016 / Coached by Sjoerd van der Coelen, RKVV Volharding clinches the title in Sunday League 2H, 5 points ahead of runners-up RKSV Prinses Irene. The decisive points are obtained in a comprehensive 0-4 away defeat at Prinses Irene’s Sportpark De Schellen. As such, Volharding manages a return to Sunday League 1 after fourteen consecutive seasons in League 2.
• 2017 / Unable to hold its own at League 1 level, RKVV Volharding, still coached by Sjoerd van der Coelen, finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 1D, thus being retrograded to Sunday League 2 along with SV Someren and derby rivals RKVV SSS ’18. In the summer of 2017, the main pitch at Sportpark Soetendaal is equipped with a synthetic surface.
• 2022 / Coached by John Vullings, RKVV Volharding obtains the title in Sunday League 2H, 9 points ahead of runners-up SVSSS, thus winning promotion to Sunday League 1 after an absence of five seasons. With Vullings leaving the club, he is succeeded as head coach by former NEC and Helmond Sport trainer Jan Pruijn, who would stay on in this capacity for two seasons.
• 2023 / Runners-up in Sunday League 1C, 19 points behind runaway champions RKSV Wittenhorst, RKVV Volharding, coached by Jan Pruijn, qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated by RKSV NEO (0-1).

Note – Much of the information in the above has been derived from a book published by RKVV Volharding on the occasion of the club’s centenary anniversary in 2014: “Volharding, dat is onze naam”, by Ron Koenen & Wim Moorman. Thanks to Volharding board member Jan Nabuurs for putting at my disposal a copy of this book.

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

NETHERLANDS: RKVV Emplina

Sportpark Empel-Zuid, 's-Hertogenbosch = Den Bosch Empel (RKVV Emplina)

Netherlands, province: North Brabant = Noord-Brabant

9 XI 2024 / RKVV Emplina - vv Roda Boys Bommelerwaard 0-2 / District South I, League 1A (= NL level 6)

Timeline

• 1944 / Foundation of a football club in Empel, which takes on the name Fortuna. 
• 1945 / Possibly following a merger with another local club, SDO, Fortuna takes on a new name, Rooms-Katholieke Voetbalvereniging (RKVV) Emplina. It is unclear where the club’s pitch was situated in those early years.
• 1950 / With Empel having suffered considerably during World War II, most of the villagers move to a new settlement, which is also given the name Empel, slightly to the southwest of the original village. The football club moves to the new location as well, settling at Terrein Het Slot – in fact closely situated to the current park, Sportpark Empel-Zuid – with players having to change clothes in the small cigar factory on the top floor of Café J. van der Dussen. Later on, changing rooms are erected, built with wood and stone of the old municipal house in (Oud-)Empel.
• 1971 / Empel as well as Oud-Empel are incorporated into the larger municipality of Den Bosch ('s-Hertogenbosch), with Empel in fact being turned into a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Den Bosch in the following decades, thus losing the character of a village in itself.
• 1981 / Moving away from Terrein Het Slot, RKVV Emplina settles at the newly laid-out Complex Maasakker at Meerwijkweg, where it has three pitches at its disposal. On the downside, though, the club is marred by floodings of the River Meuse on this new location.
• 1989 / Winning the title in the top division of the NBVB, RKVV Emplina wins promotion to KNVB Sunday League 4 for the first time in club history.
• 1992 / Runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 4B, 2 points behind champions vv Hertogstad, RKVV Emplina wins the subsequent round of promotion play-offs, resulting in the club acceding to Sunday League 3 for the first time.
• 1994 / Finishing in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 3B, RKVV Emplina drops back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club RKSV Festilent.
• 1996 / Runaway champions in District South I’s Sunday League 4B, 7 points ahead of closest rivals RKVV BMC, RKVV Emplina manages a return to Sunday League 3.
• 1997 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South I’s Sunday League 3C, RKVV Emplina drops back into Sunday League 4 after just one year, along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Berghem Sport.
• 2003 / Coached by Dick Salm, RKVV Emplina finishes in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 4D, thus descending into Sunday League 5 along with bottom club SC Elshout.
• 2004 / RKVV Emplina finishes as runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 5F, 9 points behind champions SV OSC ’45, but the club fails to win promotion in the subsequent play-off round. Also in 2004, moving away from Complex Maasakker after 23 years, RKVV Emplina settles at the newly laid-out Sportpark Empel-Zuid – situated on the eastern side of Empel, close to the former Terrein Het Slot, where the club had been home between 1950 and 1981.
• 2005 / Champions in District South I’s Sunday League 5F, 4 points ahead of closest followers SV Real Lunet, RKVV Emplina wins promotion to Sunday League 4. The successful trainer is Koos Meesters.
• 2009 / RKVV Emplina finishes as runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 4F, 3 points behind champions vv Hedel, but the club fails to win promotion in the subsequent play-off round.
• 2011 / Champions in District South I’s Sunday League 4F, 9 points ahead of runners-up GVV Raptim, RKVV Emplina wins promotion to Sunday League 3. The successful trainer is Hans Lathouwers.
• 2014 / Erik Meulendijk takes over the role as head coach at RKVV Emplina. Meulendijk was a professional league player at BVV Den Bosch and FC Den Bosch for eleven years (1989-2000).
• 2015 / Runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 3C, 3 points behind champions SV Real Lunet, RKVV Emplina qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out RKVV Dommelen in R1 (4-2 aggr.), before suffering elimination in R2 at the hands of RKSV Braakhuizen (6-4 aggr.).
• 2016 / Coached by Erik Meulendijk, RKVV Emplina clinches the title in District South I’s Sunday League 3C, finishing 6 points ahead of closest followers RKJVV. As such, the club accedes to Sunday League 2 for the first time ever.
• 2017 / Finishing in fourth place in Sunday League 2F, RKVV Emplina qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by SC Unitas ’30 (1-1 aggr. & penalty shoot-out).
• 2018 / Erik Meulendijk leaves RKVV Emplina after having been head coach for four seasons, moving to RKSV Prinses Irene to serve in the same capacity at that club.
• 2019 / The main pitch at Sportpark Empel-Zuid is equipped with a synthetic surface.
• 2023 / Coached by Jeroen van Bezouwen, RKVV Emplina obtains the title in Sunday League 2D, 8 points ahead of runners-up vv TSC. As such, the club achieves a historic promotion to League 1. After the 2022-23 season, Van Bezouwen leaves the club, with his successor being Anthony Lurling, former professional league player (1994-2016) at FC Den Bosch, SC Heerenveen, Feyenoord Rotterdam, NAC Breda, 1. FC Köln, and RKC Waalwijk. In September 2023, an small uncovered stand is inaugurated at Sportpark Empel-Zuid. 
• 2024 / In its first season in District South I’s League 1, RKVV Emplina manages a respectable seventh place.

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

NETHERLANDS: VCS (1957-) / HVV Hercules (2018-2019) / LFC (2024-)

Sportpark Escamp I - VCS, 's-Gravenhage = Den Haag Escamp (VCS & LFC, formerly HVV Hercules)

Netherlands, province: South Holland = Zuid-Holland

9 XI 2024 / VCS - RVV Semper Altius 0-3 / District West II, Saturday League 5C (= NL level 10)

Timeline

• 1908 / Foundation of a football club in The Hague, which takes on the name Swift. The founding father of the club was Dick Bordewijk. The club, little more than a band of boys playing improvised matches against teams from other parts of the city, spends the first years of its existence on a makeshift pitch laid out at Frederik Hendrikplein.
• 1910 / Swift takes part in the so-called Volkscompetitie, a league of aspirant clubs in The Hague organised by the HVB.
• 1911 / After unexpectedly winning a summer cup tournament in Rotterdam, organised by RVV Transvalia, and with RV&AV Excelsior, RV&AV Sparta, and RVV Feijenoord being among the participants, Swift is admitted as new member of the Haagsche Voetbalbond (HVB), the Hague’s sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB). However, due to an older NVB member club from Amsterdam already having the name Swift (AVV Swift), the club has to take on a new name. Its first suggestion, Voetbalclub Swift (VCS) is rejected, upon which the painfully straightforward solution is found to translate the English ‘swift’ into Dutch, ‘snel’ – and, as a result, the club is accepted as new HVB member as Voetbalclub Snel (VCS). For the 1911-12 season, VCS is placed in HVB Division 2B. Moving away from Terrein Frederik Hendrikplein, the club settles at Terrein Fahrenheitstraat, part of a larger conglomerate of sports pitches near Valkenbosplein also used by other clubs, such as UNI and VVDH. Also in 1911, two new clubs see the daylight in The Hague, TOGO (‘Tot Ons Genoegen Opgericht’) and SHC (Spartaansche Haagsche (?) Club, a name chosen after the HVB had rejected the name ‘Sparta’, which had already been taken by the aforementioned club from Rotterdam). It is unclear where the grounds used by TOGO (until 1930) and SHC/SVC (until 1940) were situated.
• 1912 / In its first season as a HVB member, VCS clinches the title in HVB Division 2B without suffering a single defeat (goal difference: 84-4). In the subsequent promotion play-off against the winner of HVB Division 2A, DHC, the club manages a 11-6 aggregate win. As a result, VCS wins promotion to HVB Division 1. Also in 1912, VCS wins the first edition of the HVB Cup, defeating HSV Celeritas in the final (1-0). Most probably still in 1912, VCS moves away from Terrein Fahrenheitlaan (Valkenbosplein), settling at a newly laid-out pitch at Laan van Meerdervoort (near the crossroads with Lijsterbesstraat), where it finds vv BMT and HVV De Ooievaars as its neighbour clubs. 
• 1913 / After approximately one year at Terrein Laan van Meerdervoort, VCS moves to a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein Boudsvelden, hemmed in between the grounds of HV&CV Quick and DVV on the one side, and the dunes separating The Hague from the North Sea on the other, at the back of the Hoeve Hanenburg estate. Also in 1913, SHC changes its name to become SVC, Spartaansche Voetbalclub.
• 1914 / Due to the mobilisation of the Netherlands’ armed forces, another club in The Hague, UNI, finds its membership too far depleted to continue its existence; the remaining UNI members now deprived of a club join VCS.
• 1916 / Champions in HVB Division 1A, VCS goes on to win the overall HVB title in the final against TOGO, which had won HVB Division 1B. Both clubs accede to NVB (Sunday) League 3, the third level of the Netherlands’ league pyramid, for the first time. Also in 1916, VCS’ centre-forward Henk Roomberg earns himself a transfer to RV&AV Sparta, where he spends the remaining nine seasons of his footballing career. Roomberg was also part of the Netherlands’ squad in the 1924 Olympics in Paris, but he never won a cap for his country. Roomberg passed away in 1945 at the age of fifty.
• 1919 / VCS clinches the title in NVB District West’s Division 3C, with an equal number of points as runners-up RKSV Leonidas, but with a better goal difference; in fact, the difference was no more than just one goal, with VCS winning its last match against RVV Saturnus emphatically, 10-0, to obtain the title. In the subsequent play-offs against HVV Hollandia, Hortus (Amsterdam), and DVV ODS, the club fails to secure promotion to League 2. 
• ± 1920 / Moving away from Terrein Boudsvelden, probably involuntarily, VCS settles on a pitch at Fruitweg, which it has to share with HVV Laakkwartier. 
• 1923 / In spite of VCS holding its own in League 3 with a respectable fifth place, the club is retrograded to the ranks of the HVB due to the measurements of its pitch at Fruitweg not being in conformity with NVB regulations. The club does not manage a return to the (K)NVB divisions in the last seven years of its existence as an independent club.
• 1924 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West II’s League 3C, TOGO descends into League 4, a level introduced in NVB District West the previous year.
• 1925 / As a new sports ground with a multitude of pitches is inaugurated in The Hague, Sportcomplex Zuiderpark, the main pitch (the future Stadion Zuiderpark) as well as two side-pitches are occupied by HVV ADO, while VCS is allowed to settle on one of the remaining pitches.
• 1926 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West II’s League 4B, TOGO drops back into the ranks of the HVB after ten years. Also in 1926, SVC wins promotion from HVB Division 2 to HVB Division 1. 
• 1928 / Champions in HVB Division 1, TOGO manages a return to KNVB League 4 after an absence of two years. Also in 1928, SVC suffers relegation from HVB Division 1 to HVB Division 2. In one of the following two seasons, the club must have managed a return to HVB Division 1, but no details about this are available.  
• 1930 / VCS and TOGO conclude a merger, resulting in the foundation of VCST (Voetbalclub-Snel-TOGO), which starts its life in District West II’s (Sunday) League 4, the level where TOGO had played in its last season as an independent club. 
• 1931 / Champions in HVB Division 1, SVC wins promotion to KNVB (Sunday) League 4 for the first time. It is unclear how SVC fared in the last nine years of its existence as an independent club (1931-40).
• 1932 / Champions in District West II’s League 4A, 5 points ahead of runners-up HVV Archipel, VCST fails to win promotion in the subsequent championship play-offs.
• 1940 / In its last season as an independent club, VCST finishes in eighth place in District West II’s League 4B. After the 1939-40 season, VCST concludes a merger with SVC, resulting in the foundation of VCS (Voetbalclub Sparta). This ‘new’ VCS is placed in (Sunday) League 3 for the 1940-41 season.
• 1942 / Champions in District West II’s Sunday League 3D, 2 points ahead of closest followers RC&VV VOC, VCS fails to win promotion in the subsequent play-off round.
• 1948 / Champions in District West II’s Sunday League 3F, 1 point ahead of closest rivals RVV HOV, VCS fails to win promotion in the subsequent play-off round.
• 1951 / Champions in District West II’s Sunday League 3A, 5 points ahead of runners-up RKSV Blauw-Zwart, VCS goes on to win promotion to Sunday League 2 in the subsequent play-off round. At the time of its title, VCS does not play at Sportcomplex Zuiderpark, though, having been thrown out by The Hague’s municipal authorities, upon which the club commences a groundsharing arrangement with HSV VUC at Terrein Schenkkade.
• 1952 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 2A, VCS drops back into League 3 after just one season.
• 1953 / Champions in District West II’s Sunday League 3B, 3 points ahead of closest rivals RKSV Excelsior ’20, VCS goes on to win the championship play-offs against League 3A winner LVV De Postduiven in a match played at Stadion Zuiderpark, HVV ADO’s stadium, in front of a sell-out crowd of over 15,000 spectators (2-1, two goals by Piet Fens). As such, the club manages an immediate return to Sunday League 2. Also in 1953, after some two years of groundsharing with HSV VUC at Terrein Schenkkade, VCS is allowed to return to Sportcomplex Zuiderpark. 
• 1955 / Champions in Sunday League 2B, 2 points ahead of UVS, VCS goes on to win the championship play-offs, resulting in the club winning promotion to Sunday League 1 for the first time. That same year, professional league football is introduced in the Netherlands, but – contrary to the other club playing at Sportcomplex Zuiderpark, HVV ADO – the club chooses to stay in non-league.
• 1956 / VCS’ defender Guus Haak, 19 years old, is signed by professional league side HSV ADO, going on to wear the colours of RVV Feijenoord, and Holland Sport, until hanging up his boots in 1971. Haak also won fourteen caps for the Netherlands’ national team between 1962 and 1965.
• 1957 / VCS manages a respectable fifth place in Sunday League 1A, the best result the club had ever managed. That same year, the club moves away from its sole pitch at Sportcomplex Zuiderpark, settling at the newly laid-out Sportpark Escamp I at Dedemsvaartlaan, where the club has been home ever since. Sportpark Escamp I was part of an urban development zone, for which the initial design had been made by the renowned architect Willem Dudok. Originally, the oblong plot of land hemmed in between the Morgenstond and Bouwlust neighbourhoods had been destined to be used for a highway or a railway station, but in the end, these plans come to nothing – and a large sports park is laid out in the area. Also in 1957, although VCS had always been a non-confessional club, the decision is taken to start a branch for Saturday football to accommodate members of the Protestant faith – with a Saturday team being fielded in the HVB divisions from then onwards. In the first sixty years of the club’s existence, the Saturday section played second fiddle in the club, with the focus firmly being on Sunday football.
• 1958 / Finishing in second-last place in Sunday League 1A with RFC, VCS meets the club from Rotterdam in a tie-break match to determine which club would join bottom club AVV Zeeburgia in League 2 the following season. The encounter, played at SHS’ Sportpark Houtrust (att. 4,000), is won by VCS (2-0, goals by Thijs Barendse & Dé Fouw). As such, the club saves its skin in the top non-league division. Also in 1958, VCS celebrates its fiftieth anniversary with a gala match against professional league side SHS at Sportpark Escamp I (0-6). At the time, the club has a membership of 1,600, with activities not only comprising football, but athletics, gymnastics, and baseball – and from 1962 even a short-lived section for philately.
• 1959 / Finishing bottom of the table in Sunday League 1A, VCS drops back into League 2 after four seasons.
• 1961 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 2A, VCS drops back into League 3. The decisive blow is dealt by the club finishing in second-last place, HVV (Koninklijke HC&VV), 2-1.
• 1962 / VCS crowns itself as champions in District West II’s Sunday League 3B, 1 point ahead of runners-up RKVV Westlandia, with the decisive points being clinched in a 3-2 win over ‘s-Gravenzandse VV (zo). As such, VCS qualifies for the championship play-offs with the three other title winners in District West II’s Sunday League 3, HVV VIOS, HSV Kranenburg, and DVV ODS, with two promotion places at stake. However, the two tickets are clinched by HVV VIOS and DVV ODS, with VCS thus staying in Sunday League 3. In the following decade, the club remains a regular feature at this level.
• 1963 / Former VCS youth player, defender Pleun Strik, who had joined RVV Feijenoord’s youth academy in 1960, makes his debut in that club’s flagship team. Strik goes on to have an impressive 21-year-long professional league career at RVV Feijenoord, DVV Go Ahead, PSV, EVV Eindhoven, NEC, and FC VVV. Between 1969 and 1974, Strik won eight caps for the Netherlands’ national side, being an unused sub in the 1974 World Cup squad which won a silver medal.
• 1972 / VCS’ new clubhouse at Sportpark Escamp I is inaugurated – the construction still in place today. Also in 1972, 20-year-old midfielder André Wetzel, who had joined HFC Haarlem’s youth academy from VCS in the summer of 1971, makes his debut in HFC Haarlem’s first team, going on to defend the colours of several other professional league sides; FC Amsterdam, FC Den Haag, and Telstar. 
• 1978 / Finishing in second-last place in District West II’s Sunday League 3B, VCS descends into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club SV RKDEO. It is the first time VCS finds itself at this lowly level since the 1940 merger between VCST and SVC.
• 1979 / Inauguration of VCS’ new grandstand at Sportpark Escamp I, a construction still in place today.
• 1981 / The Hague’s city-council presents a plan, Structuurplan Eshofpolder, involving all the sports facilities at Dedemsvaartlaan, including VCS’ Sportpark Escamp I, having to make way for housing. After protests by inhabitants, however, the plans are shelved. 
• 1982 / After a professional league career of ten years, André Wetzel returns to VCS as a player, hanging up his boots one year later and taking on the role as head coach from the 1983-84 season onwards.
• 1984 / Champions in District West II’s Sunday League 4D, 5 points ahead of closest rivals SVDP, VCS wins promotion to Sunday League 3.
• 1985 / Coached by André Wetzel, VCS only just misses out on the title in District West II’s Sunday League 3A, finishing 2 points behind champions VSV TONEGIDO after a tight race. On the other hand, the club succeeds in winning the Haagsche Courant Cup, a prestigious local tournament, defeating VVM at Sportpark Escamp I (2-1) in front of an impressive crowd of 4,000.
• 1986 / Champions in District West II’s Sunday League 3A, 2 points ahead of closest followers FC Lisse, VCS wins promotion to Sunday League 2. The decisive points are clinched in a 3-0 home win against HBS (goals by John van den Hoogenband, Onno Sterk, and Ben Wiggeraad), attended by some 1,200 spectators. It heralds the club’s return to League 2 after an absence of 25 years. After the 1985-86 season, trainer André Wetzel leaves the club, signing for RVC. In the following decades, Wetzel goes on to work as a coach for many clubs, including Willem II, YR KV Mechelen, VVV-Venlo, and ADO Den Haag.
• 1988 / Finishing in second-last place in District West II’s Sunday League 2A, VCS drops back into League 3 along with bottom club SV Den Hoorn. The club’s trainer in this unsuccessful season is Rob Jansen. Also in 1988, former VCS youth player, winger Gaston Taument, makes his debut in Feyenoord Rotterdam’s first team, going on to wear the colours of RV&AV Excelsior, SL Benfica, RSC Anderlecht, OFI (Crete), and SK Rapid (Vienna), until hanging up his boots in 2002. Taument also won fifteen caps for the Netherlands’ national side between 1992 and 1996, being part of his country’s squads in the 1994 World Cup (in which he scored one goal) and the 1996 European Championships.
• 1990 / Coached by Leen de Graaf, VCS clinches the title in District West II’s Sunday League 3B, 5 points ahead of runners-up SV DWO. The decisive points are clinched in a direct confrontation with DWO at Sportpark Escamp I, ending in a 2-0 win for VCS (goals by Mark Rog & John Kleyn). As such, the club manages a return to Sunday League 2.
• 1992 / Finishing in joint first place in District West II’s Sunday League 2A with HSV ADO, VCS meets its city rivals in a play-off, played at VSV TONEGIDO’s Complex Rodelaan in Voorburg, with the first encounter finishing 0-0 A.E.T., and a second match on the same location seeing VCS walking away as winners (2-1, goals by Dennis Louwe and Jeroen Peeters). Both matches were attended by some 2,500 spectators. As such, VCS wins promotion to Sunday League 1.
• 1996 / Champions in Sunday League 1B, 2 points ahead of closest rivals UVS, VCS wins promotion to Zondag Hoofdklasse – the top division of the Sunday league pyramid since 1974 – for the first time. The decisive points for the team coached by Cees Tempelaar are obtained in a 2-4 away win at vv Nieuwenhoorn.
• 1997 / In the best season in club history, VCS finishes in sixth place in Zondag Hoofdklasse A.
• 1998 / Finishing bottom of the table in Zondag Hoofdklasse A, VCS drops back into Sunday League 1 after two seasons, along with the club finishing in second-last place, AFC. In the course of the season, coach Rob Beunder had been replaced by Ed de Maat, but to no avail. For the 1998-99 season, VCS signs a new trainer, Wim Meutstege, former professional league player at Go Ahead Eagles, RV&AV Excelsior, Sparta Rotterdam, and AFC Ajax (1970-80); moreover, Meutstege also won one cap for the Netherlands’ national team in 1976, being part of the national squad which won a bronze medal at the European Championships in Yugoslavia that same year.
• 1999 / Coached by Gerard van der Mark, who had replaced Wim Meutstege after an unsatisfactory first half of the season, VCS finishes in tenth place in Sunday League 1B, subsequently failing to hold its own in a promotion-relegation play-off. As such, the club suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into League 2 along with direct drop-outs SC Gastel and LVV Lugdunum. 
• 2002 / Coached by Jan Linkerhof, VCS wins the title in Sunday League 2D, 1 point ahead of RKSV VELO, thus managing a return to Sunday League 1 after an absence of three seasons. The decisive points are clinched in a 0-1 away win against derby rivals HVV Laakkwartier (goal by Olav Goulooze).
• 2003 / Coached by Jan Linkerhof, VCS finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 1B, thus dropping back into League 2 after just one season, along with bottom club vv SJC.
• 2006 / Runners-up in Sunday League 2C for the third year running, this time finishing 10 points behind champions HVV Laakkwartier, VCS now finally succeeds in winning promotion via the play-offs. The successful coach is Hans Honders.
• 2007 / Finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 1B, VCS is unable to hold its own in the promotion-relegation play-offs, thus dropping back into League 2 along with the two bottom clubs, SV DRL and HVV Laakkwartier.
• 2009 / Finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 2C, VCS is unable to hold its own in the promotion-relegation play-offs, suffering a decisive defeat at the hands of BVV Wit-Rood-Wit, resulting in the club descending into League 3 along with the two bottom clubs, UVS and SV RKDEO.
• 2010 / Finishing in third place in District West II’s Sunday League 3C, VCS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by CVV Zwervers (4-1 aggr.).
• 2011 / Former VCS youth player, attacker Anass Achahbar, who had joined Feyenoord Rotterdam’s youth academy in 2002, makes his debut for that club’s first team, going on to have a professional league career at DSC Arminia Bielefeld, PEC Zwolle, NEC, FC Dordrecht, ACS Sepsi OSK, and AEPS Aeolicos, eventually hanging up his boots in 2023. 
• 2012 / Finishing in third place in District West II’s Sunday League 3C, VCS qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RVV AGE (3-0 aggr.). Also in 2012, much of VCS’ Saturday team, which suffers relegation from Saturday League 3 in the 2011-12 season, joins a newly founded club, HVV Hercules. Not disposing of its own ground, HVV Hercules concludes a groundsharing agreement with SV HMSH at Sportpark Vrederust. 
• 2013 / In a difficult season, in the course of which trainer Wout Pronk is replaced by Ed van Kouwenhoven, VCS finishes bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 3A, thus descending into League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv UDO. For VCS, the relegation heralds a return to Sunday League 4 after an absence of 29 years at that lowly level.
• 2014 / Runners-up in District West II’s Sunday League 4C, 2 points behind champions SC REMO, VCS wins direct promotion to League 3 due to extra promotion places being available. The decisive points are clinched in a 0-10 away win at HSV ADS. The successful player-coach is Tolga Turkeri.
• 2015 / Finishing in twelfth place in District West II’s Sunday League 3C, VCS has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs, in which it finishes in first place in a group with RV&AV Overmaas and vv Abbenbroek. As such, the club staves off relegation.
• 2016 / VCS is pressured by The Hague’s city-council to conclude a merger with neighbour club HSV Escamp, but with neither of those clubs being keen on the merger, The Hague’s municipal authorities ban HSV Escamp from Sportpark Escamp I (West), leading to the club having to groundshare at various other non-league clubs in The Hague for the 2016-17 season, ceasing its activities in 2017, eventually being wound up in 2020. As for HSV Escamp’s pitch on the western side of Sportpark Escamp I, those had already been occupied by GSC ESCO in 2013 – initially as groundsharers, and from 2016 as sole users.
• 2018 / After six seasons of groundsharing with SV HMSH at Sportpark Vrederust, HVV Hercules, which had been a Saturday breakaway club of VCS, concludes an agreement with VCS, settling as groundsharers at Sportpark Escamp I, where it plays its first team football on a side-pitch.
• 2019 / In a one-off experiment, the Sunday Leagues 3 & 4 in District West II are combined, with the place each club finds itself in after the first half of the season determining if it is placed in League 3 or League 4 in the second half of the season. As VCS finishes in the bottom half of the table of the first part of the season, the club is retrograded to League 4 for the second half of the season – amounting to relegation to this level. Also in 2019, HVV Hercules allows itself to be absorbed into VCS, with HVV Hercules’ first team becoming the Saturday team of VCS.
• 2021 / After the 2020-21 season, which had been cut short due to the second COVID lockdown in the fall of 2020, the club withdraws from Sunday league football after 110 years. Henceforth, VCS’s Saturday team, which had been created in the 1950s and finds itself in Saturday League 4 in 2021, is the flagship team of the club.
• 2023 / Finishing in tenth place in District West II’s Saturday League 4E, VCS has to play a set of relegation play-offs, in which it is defeated comprehensively by HV&CV Quick (za), 2-7. As such, the club is placed in the newly created bottom division of District West II’s Saturday pyramid, Saturday League 5.
• 2024 / VCS is joined at Sportpark Escamp I by an unexpected groundsharer, a non-league club from Leyden, LFC (called FC Boshuizen until 2023). LFC had been evicted from Sportpark Boshuizerkade Zuid in Leyden by Leyden’s city-council following the club’s membership having fallen below a level deemed viable by municipal authorities. VCS and LFC, which plays its football in District West II’s League 1 – four divisions above VCS – explore the possibilities of a merger in the summer of 2025.

Note – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-6 = non-matchday visit, March 2019 / pictures 7-23 = match visit, November 2024.

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