Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: RKSV Sint Martinus (1951-1975) / vv Sint Martinus (1975-1999) / vv Sporting Martinus (1999-)

Sportpark Overburg, Amstelveen (vv Sporting Martinus, formerly RKSV Sint Martinus / vv Sint Martinus)

Netherlands, province: North Holland = Noord-Holland

2 II 2025 / vv Sporting Martinus - SV Hoofddorp 0-1 / District West I, Combined Sunday & Saturday League 1A (= NL level 6)

Timeline

1919 / Foundation of a Roman-Catholic football club in Amsterdam under the auspices of the so-called Sint-Joseph-Gezellenvereeniging, a sub-branch of the Kolping Society, which has its headquarters at the Stadhouderskade. The new club is given the name RKSV (Roomsch-Katholieke Sportvereeniging) De Zwaluwen, with the president of the local Kolping Society, chaplain Van Adrichem, becoming its first chairman. The club joins the so-called Roomsch-Katholieke Utrechtsche Voetbalbond (RKUVB), a sub-branch of the RKF (Roomsch-Katholieke Federatie), a Roman-Catholic Sports Association. RKSV De Zwaluwen’s first pitch is situated at Sloterweg, but it moves to a new ground, Terrein Middenmeer at Middenweg at some point in the following years – probably one of the pitches on the so-called Katholiek Sportpark.
1921 / Having played its football in the RKUVB for the first two years of its existence, RKSV De Zwaluwen now switches to the DHVB (Diocesaan Haarlemsche Voetbalbond), another RKF sub-branch.
1923 / Foundation of a new football club in Amsterdam, more specifically in the Roman-Catholic Papendorp area (Vredeskerk parish, Pijnackerstraat) in the southern reaches of the city. Initially, the new club, which is given the name KMD (‘Klein Maar Dapper’), sticks to playing irregular football without joining any association. Matches are played on a makeshift pitch in an area known locally as ‘Zwarte Land’ or ‘Zwarte Landje’, near the old RAI Conference Centre at Ferdinand Bolstraat.
1924 / RKSV De Zwaluwen records a remarkable success, winning the title in DHVB Division 1 and thus acceding to Division 2 of the nationwide RKF pyramid. Meanwhile, upon joining the DHVB, KMD is asked to change its name due to another club in the same association already using that same acronym. With the new appellation RKASV (Roomsch-Katholieke Amsterdamsche Sportvereeniging) The Unity, the club is accepted as a new member. A first board is put together, with Barend de Wilde taking on the role of chairman. The club finds itself a pitch in the Watergraafsmeer area in the southeast of Amsterdam – possibly at the Katholiek Sportpark also used by RKSV De Zwaluwen. RKASV The Unity commences its life as a competitive club in DHVB Division 3.
1925 / Abandoning Terrein Middenweg, RKSV De Zwaluwen moves to a new ground situated in the north of the city, Terrein Meeuwenlaan – adjacent to the pitches of RKAV (later renamed RKAVIC). Also in 1925, a new Roman-Catholic club sees the daylight in the southern reaches of Amsterdam, vv Amsteldijk, founded under the auspices of the St Willibrord parish (the St Willibrord Church was situated at Amsteldijk – hence the club name). vv Amsteldijk settles on Terrein Buitencentrum, a pitch laid out on a plot of land owned by the parish at Ouderkerkerdijk. Later on, thanks to a workfare programme organised in the 1930s, the ground is adorned with a covered stand as well as a set of dressing rooms.
1926 / RKASV The Unity records its first success, gaining the title in DHVB Division 3 and thus acceding to DHVB Division 2.
1927 / Winning back-to-back titles, RKASV The Unity sweeps the board in DHVB Division 2, thus acceding to DHVB Division 1.
1928 / Nearly making it three in a row, RKASV The Unity misses out on the DHVB Division 1 title on goal difference, having to leave the honours to RKSV GVO.
1930 / Upon withdrawing from first team football, vv Amsteldijk folds, ceasing all activities, possibly due to financial problems – but a successor club is founded straightaway, SVO (Strijden-Volharden-Winnen), with most of the remaining vv Amsteldijk membership making the leap to this phoenix club, which also takes over Amsteldijk’s pitch, Terrein Buitencentrum. Meanwhile, also in 1930, a new Roman Catholic football club is founded in the southern reaches of Amsterdam, RKSV (Roomsch-Katholieke Sportvereeniging) Sint Martinus – in effect a joint venture of three parishes, the St Anne’s Church (Sint-Annakerk, Amsterdamscheweg), the St Augustine’s Church (Augustinuskerk: Kalfjeslaan), and the St Agnes’ Church (Sint-Agneskerk: across from the Haarlemmermeer train station). RKSV Sint Martinus joins the DHVB and starts its existence on a pitch at Rentmeesterlaan, a pasture owned by the Klarenbeek family.
± 1931 / Moving away from its pitch in Watergraafsmeer, RKASV The Unity moves to Terrein Boerenwetering – a pitch which can only be reached by boat. Later on in the 1930s, the club settles at Amstelveenscheweg, on a plot of land owned by a local smallholder, Mr Bon. This ground, on the eastern outskirts of an artificial forest which is being laid out between Amsterdam and Amstelveen, the so-called Amsterdamsche Bos (referred to as ‘Boschplan’ in the early years), has to be shared with RKSV Sint Martinus from some point in the second half of the 1930s onwards. By that time, a small covered stand has been added to the set-up.
1932 / Clinching the title in DHVB Division 1, RKSV De Zwaluwen wins promotion to Division 2 of the nationwide Roman Catholic league system – which has meanwhile been renamed from RKF to IVCB (Interdiocesane Voetbal-Competitiebond). By that time, having abandoned Terrein Meeuwenlaan, De Zwaluwen plays its home games at Jan Vroegopsingel, only a stone’s throw away from SVO’s Terrein Buitencentrum.
1940 / Having spent the first years of their existence in the DHVB and RKF/IVCB, all Roman Catholic clubs mentioned above – i.e. RKSV De Zwaluwen, RKASV The Unity, SVO, and RKSV Sint Martinus – are 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. Due to the epithet ‘De Zwaluwen’ already being in use by other NVB clubs, RKSV De Zwaluwen has to adapt its name, being officially known as RKSV De Zwaluwen 1919 from then onwards. Due to none of the aforementioned clubs having played a major role in the Catholic leagues in pre-war Netherlands, they are all placed in the league system of the so-called AVB (Amsterdamsche Voetbalbond), the NVB sub-branch organising football below the level of NVB (Sunday) League 4 in the Greater Amsterdam region.
1942 / For reasons unknown, SVO changes its name to become vv Amstelboys – not to be confused with the eponymous club which played its football in the so-called Amsterdamsche Volksvoetbalbond (AVVB) between 1934 and 1938.
1944 / Winning a tie-break match against P & T, RKASV The Unity wins the title in AVB Sunday Division 1C – with club records mentioning that The Unity’s squad had been bolstered considerably by a footballer of a NVB League 1 player who had gone in hiding in Amsterdam. Be that as it may, as a result of its title win, RKASV The Unity accedes to NVB Sunday League 4 for the first time – although the club has to wait until mid-1945 to take its place due to the closing stages of the war interrupting regular league football in the 1944-45 season.
1947 / Finishing in last place in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, RKASV The Unity saves its skin at this level after a successful round of promotion-relegation play-offs. That same year, merger talks are held between RKASV The Unity, vv Amstelboys, and RKSV De Zwaluwen 1919. While The Unity’s membership votes down the proposed merger, the two other clubs agree to amalgamate into one, founding RKSV Amstelzwaluwen. All activities move to vv Amstelboys’ Terrein Buitencentrum, as Zwaluwen’s ground, Terrein Jan Vroegopsingel – only a stone’s throw away – has to make way for the new Amsterdam beltway. RKSV Amstelzwaluwen starts its life in AVB Sunday Division 1C.
1948 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4G, RKASV The Unity goes on to suffer defeat in the relegation play-offs, thus dropping back into AVB Sunday Division 1 after three seasons – never managing a return to the national level in the remainder of its existence.
1949 / Suffering its second relegation in a row, RKASV The Unity is retrograded from AVB Sunday Division 1 to AVB Sunday Division 2.
1951 / While no information is available on the location where RKSV Sint Martinus was home between 1942 and 1951 – the club having been groundsharers with vv Amsteldijk at Terrein Amstelveenscheweg until 1942 or possibly longer – this club now moves to Terrein (Sportpark) Overburg in Amstelveen, the location occupied by vv Sporting Martinus today. As such, RKSV Sint Martinus is severed from its roots in Amsterdam.
1952 / As the AVB cracks down on badly maintained playing surfaces, both RKASV The Unity and RKSV Amstelzwaluwen are forced out of their home grounds at Amstelveenseweg and Buitencentrum respectively due to a main pitch which is deemed unplayable. Whereas Amstelzwaluwen temporarily groundshares with SDC and RKAVIC while its pitches are being upgraded, RKASV The Unity is forced away from its home base in the south of Amsterdam with an unvoluntary move to Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex Velserweg, a large municipal sports park with forty on the western outskirts of Amsterdam. As a result, the club’s membership shrinks considerably in the following years.
1953 / After one year of drainage works at Terrein Buitencentrum, RKSV Amstelzwaluwen can return to its home ground. That same year, a reorganisation is undertaken, making the football club a sub-branch of a multisport club, ‘Groot Amstelzwaluwen’, with volleyball, gymnastics, and handball being added to the myriad of activities.
1955 / At RKSV Sint Martinus’ Sportpark Overburg, a first clubhouse is inaugurated.
1956 / Winning the title in AVB Sunday Division 1, RKSV Sint Martinus wins promotion to District West I’s Sunday League 4 for the first time in its history.
1958 / Having spent six seasons in exile at Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex Velserweg, RKASV The Unity now returns to its roots in the south of Amsterdam, being allowed the use of two pitches on AMVJ’s park at Kalfjeslaan in the Amsterdamse Bos, the forest laid out in the 1930s halfway between Amsterdam and Amstelveen. Hereby, following RKSV Sint Martinus’ move seven years previously, RKASV The Unity becomes an Amstelveen rather than an Amsterdam club.
1959 / RKSV Sint Martinus finishes as runners up in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 6 points behind champions ASV Meerboys. That same year, a set of dressing rooms is inaugurated at RKASV The Unity’s new ground at Kalfjeslaan in the Amsterdamse Bos.
1961 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4C, 2 points ahead of closest rivals BVC Bloemendaal, RKSV Sint Martinus wins promotion to Sunday League 3 for the first time. That same season, RKSV Amstelzwaluwen descends into AVB Sunday Division 2 due to finishing bottom of the table in AVB D1.
1962 / After thirteen consecutive seasons in AVB Sunday Division 2, RKASV The Unity now clinches the title at that level, thus managing a long overdue return to AVB Sunday Division 1. In November 1962, The Unity is allowed the use of the floodlit side-pitch of another club, RKSV Wilskracht-SNL, for training sessions.
1963 / Finishing in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, RKSV Sint Martinus drops back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club WFC Rapiditas.
1965 / Suffering a heavy 4-0 home defeat at the hands of APGS in the last match of the season, RKASV The Unity finishes in last place in AVB Sunday Division 1A, thus dropping back into AVB Division 2. No information is available about the club’s performances in the last six years of its existence.
1966 / Due to rumours about both of the clubs’ grounds having to make way for building projects in the future, RKASV The Unity and RKSV Amstelzwaluwen hold first tentative merger talks.
1968 / The covered stand at RKSV Amstelzwaluwen’s Terrein Buitencentrum, dating back to the 1930s, is deemed unsafe by Amsterdam’s municipal authorities and is removed in the fall of 1968.
1969 / The original clubhouse at RKSV Sint Martinus’ Sportpark Overburg, dating back to 1955, has to make way for a two-tiered replacement.
1970 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4E, 2 points ahead of closest followers ASV De Germaan, RKSV Sint Martinus manages a return to Sunday League 3 after an absence of seven seasons. Meanwhile, RKSV Amstelzwaluwen also has a successful season, clinching the title in AVB Sunday Division 2 following an away win at AFC TABA. As such, the club wins promotion to AVB Division 1. The successful coach is Jan Deuster.
1971 / As Amsterdam’s municipal authorities make it clear that larger clubs are given priority in the matter of the allocation of new grounds, RKASV The Unity and RKSV Amstelzwaluwen finally go about their merger talks seriously after five years of pussyfooting – given that both clubs know that they will have to leave their grounds in the foreseeable future. In a combined assembly of members, green light is given for the foundation of a merger club, which is given the name Sporting Zuid – with M. Derksen being elected as the club’s first chairman. For the time being, both grounds – Amstelzwaluwen’s Terrein Buitencentrum and The Unity’s Terrein Kalfjeslaan (Amsterdamse Bos) – remain in use, with first team football usually being played at the latter park. Sporting Zuid starts its life in AVB Sunday Division 1.
1972 / Finishing in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, RKSV Sint Martinus drops back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club SV De Meteoor.
1973 / Following a 2-0 win in a tie-break match against Gold Star, played at Sportpark Ookmeer veld/pitch 18, Sporting Zuid records its first success, clinching the title in AVB Sunday Division 1 and winning promotion to KNVB District West I’s Sunday League 4. Meanwhile, the club’s B pitch, Terrein Buitencentrum, is removed to make way for an extension of the Amsterdam beltway. Later that same year, Sporting Zuid also has to abandon Terrein Kalfjeslaan, which has to make way for hockey pitches, laid out in the shadow of the Netherlands’ national hockey stadium, the Wagenerstadion. Sporting Zuid temporarily settles as groundsharers of PVWA at Terrein Ouderkerkerdijk. Meanwhile, works get underway at the club’s prospective new ground, Sportpark Het Loopveld, situated only a stone’s throw away, also in Amstelveen.
1974 / After one year of groundsharing at PVWA, Sporting Zuid moves into its newly laid-out Sportpark Het Loopveld. At the new ground, the club disposes of five pitches as well as a two-tiered clubhouse.
1975 / Following a conflict with the Netherlands’ Catholic Sports Federation (NKS, Nederlandse Katholieke Sportfederatie), RKSV Sint Martinus changes its name to become vv Sint Martinus.
1976 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 1 point ahead of runners-up RKVV VDO, Sporting Zuid wins promotion to Sunday League 3 for the first time. The successful coach is Jan Deuster, who leaves the club after more than ten seasons as head coach in the summer of 1976 – only to return to the club two years later to take over the role as chairman (1978-86).
1977 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 3 points ahead of closest rivals RKVV VDO, vv Sint Martinus wins promotion to Sunday League 3. Meanwhile, Sporting Zuid finds itself unable to cope with the level in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, finishing in second-last place and dropping back into League 4 along with bottom club AVV OVVO.
1978 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, 4 points ahead of a quartet of clubs – AVV Animo, HC&FC Victoria, SC Oriënt, and ASV DJK – vv Sint Martinus wins promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first time in club history. Meanwhile, one division lower, Sporting Zuid narrowly misses out on promotion, finishing as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 1 point behind champions RKSV Pancratius.
1979 / Sporting Zuid finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 5 points behind champions vv Slotervaart. Also in or around 1979, marred by a decreasing membership and overcapacity of its pitches, Sporting Zuid are joined at Sportpark Het Loopveld by students’ football club ASVV De Schollevers, which probably continued its status as groundsharer at the park until the departure of Sporting Zuid itself in 1999. From the 1980s onwards, another groundsharer joins Sporting Zuid, American football club Amsterdam Rams.
1980 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 3 points ahead of closest followers RKDES, Sporting Zuid manages a return to Sunday League 3. The decisive points are clinched in an away match at SV Argon. The successful coach is Arie Haan – not to be confused with his namesake, a Netherlands’ international player who played in the 1974 and 1978 World Cup finals.
1982 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 2B, vv Sint Martinus drops back into Sunday League 3 along with the club finishing in second-last position, RKSV Pancratius.
1984 / Finishing in second-last and last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C respectively, vv Sint Martinus and Sporting Zuid drop back into Sunday League 4, a level at which both clubs would stay for the following fifteen seasons.
1990 / Former vv Sint Martinus youth academy player, defender Michael Reiziger, makes his debut in AFC Ajax’ first team at the age of seventeen. Reiziger went on to have a successful career, which led him to FC Volendam, FC Groningen, Milan AC, FC Barcelona, Middlesbrough FC, and PSV, eventually hanging up his boots in 2007. Reiziger was part of the Ajax squad which won the 1995 Champions League as well as winning 72 caps for the Netherlands’ national team, being part of his country’s squads in the 1998 World Cup as well as the 1996, 2000, and 2004 editions of the European Championship.
1999 / In its last season as an independent club, vv Sint Martinus finishes as runners-up in District West II’s Sunday League 4E, 10 points behind champions FC Abcoude, while Sporting Zuid manages a sixth place in that same division. Following the 1998-99 season, a merger is concluded between vv Sint Martinus and Sporting Zuid, leading to the foundation of vv Sporting Zuid Sint Martinus – although the new club is universally referred to as (vv) Sporting Martinus. All activities move to vv Sint Martinus’ Sportpark Overburg, while Sporting Zuid’s Sportpark Het Loopveld is taken over by SV Rap.
2000 / In its first season following the merger, vv Sporting Martinus finishes as runners-up in District West II’s Sunday League 4E, 16 points behind runaway champions vv Legmeervogels. That summer, the club signs former VSV, Telstar, and FC Volendam professional league player (328 matches for Telstar!) Fred André as head coach. André stays on for one season, in which the club finishes in fifth place in Sunday League 4E.
2003 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 5 points ahead of derby rivals RKAVIC, vv Sporting Martinus wins promotion to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Jannis van der Lijcke.
2004 / Runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, 6 points behind champions FC Chabab, vv Sporting Martinus goes on to win the promotion play-offs, thus securing back-to-back promotions and acceding to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is Jannis van der Lijcke.
2006 / vv Sporting Martinus finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 2B, 3 points behind champions USV Hercules.
2011 / Finishing in twelfth place in Sunday League 2B with coach Jannis van der Lijcke, vv Sporting Martinus has to play promotion-relegation play-offs to avoid the drop – and not being successful at that task, bowing out in R1 against VVZA (3-2 aggr.). As such, the club drops back into Sunday League 3 along with FC De Bilt, RKSV DCG, and bottom club SV Kampong.
± 2012 / The main pitch at Sportpark Overburg is equipped with a synthetic surface.
2014 / Coached by Rob Wever, vv Sporting Martinus finishes in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, thus descending into Sunday League 4 along with SV Diemen, RCH, and bottom club SV Nieuw-West United. Also in or around 2014, a covered stand – a simple steel construction covered by a plastic sheet roof – is added to the set-up at Sportpark Overburg as a replacement for the uncovered stand on the canteen side of the main pitch, which has to be removed for security reasons, allowing ambulances onto the side-pitches of the park.
2015 / Finishing in third place in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, vv Sporting Martinus qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it has the better of vv Schoten (5-3 aggr.) before suffering defeat in R1 at the hands of ASV Fortius (3-2 aggr.). Drawn in a lucky loser round for extra promotion places with RKVV DSS, Forza Almere, and vv MSV ’19, vv Sporting Martinus has to leave the honours to the last-mentioned club, thus finishing the season with empty hands.
2016 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 6 points ahead of closest followers RKDES, vv Sporting Martinus wins promotion to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Ron Gerlof. That same year, the club’s chairman Pieter Monkelbaan steps down after 21 years at the helm of the club; to honour him, the covered stand alongside the main pitch is renamed the Pieter Monkelbaan-Tribune.
2017 / Finishing in fourth place in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, vv Sporting Martinus qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RKSV DCG (4-3 aggr.).
2022 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 3C, 1 point ahead of closest rivals AVV ZSGOWMS, vv Sporting Martinus wins promotion to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is Tom Verhoek. That same year, the clubhouse at Sportpark Overburg, dating back to 1969, is knocked down to make way for a new two-tiered construction, which is inaugurated in the early months of 2023.
2023 / Runners-up in Sunday League 2B, 5 points behind champions SCPB ’22, vv Sporting Martinus qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club eliminates vv ZAP in R1 (1-0), only to be knocked out by vv TSC in R2 (0-2).
2024 / Runners-up in Sunday League 2B, 8 points behind champions AVV ZSGOWMS, vv Sporting Martinus qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club edges past SV Fortuna Wormerveer (2-2 & penalty shoot-out) and ASV De Dijk (2-2 & penalty shoot-out) to qualify for the final, played at SV Hillegom’s Sportpark Zanderij. In that final, vv Sporting Martinus has the better of SVA (5-1), thus managing a historic promotion to League 1, the sixth tier of the Netherlands’ football pyramid. The successful coach is Michael Crombeen.

Note – Apart from conversations with several club volunteers, the information above has been derived from several booklets released on the occasion of club anniversaries: “40 jaar RKASV The Unity 1923-1963” (anonymous) / “Sporting Zuid 1919-1989” (by Adriaan Koppers & Frans Looye) / “Sporting Zuid 75” (anonymous). Thanks to Ron de Wit of www.vriendenvanwatergraafsmeer.nl for allowing me to use the two last-mentioned sources.