Extreme Football Tourism: March 2025

Gemeentelijk Sportpark It Gryn, Stiens (SC Stiens, formerly vv Stiens / vv CSL)

Netherlands, province: Frisia = Friesland

1 III 2025 / SC Stiens - WVV 1896 1-1 / Combined Sunday & Saturday League 1H (= NL level 6)

Timeline

1924 / Foundation of a first football club in the Frisian village of Stiens, which is given the name Brinio – named after the leader of a Germanic tribe living in the area of the Netherlands during Roman times, who inspired his people to wage a revolt against the Romans. Most probably, Brinio, which settles on a pitch laid out at Moundyk, never joined the FVB (Friesche Voetbalbond), the Frisian sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, renamed KNVB in 1929), sticking to playing friendly matches against teams from surrounding villages instead.
1926 / Due to a dwindling membership, Brinio folds, ceasing all activities.
1929 / A group of boys from Stiens gets together to play football, with them taking on the name Albatros. A first match is organised at Terrein Moundyk, Brinio’s former pitch, with a team from Hallum visiting (1-1). In the summer of 1929, the group decides to form a proper club, which is given the name ODIO (‘Ons Doel Is Overwinnen’). Due to Terrein Moundyk being used as an ice rink in the winter months, ODIO cannot take part in any FVB competitions – thus refraining from filing for membership and sticking to playing just friendly games.
± 1931 / Foundation of two new football clubs in Stiens, SBO (‘Samenspel Brengt Overwinning’) and VIOS (‘Voetballen Is Onze Sport’). Both play their football on Terrein De Grien – actually situated very closely to the future Gemeentelijk Sportpark It Gryn. Like ODIO, SBO and VIOS have a membership of boys between the ages of twelve and seventeen only. They stick to playing recreational football without applying for FVB membership.
1932 / In a combined meeting of the members of ODIO and former Brinio players at Café Rustenburg, the latter make known their desire to form a regular football team. With this group joining ODIO as new members, the first chairman of the club, Piet van der Zee, writes a letter to the FVB, requesting to allow his club to join the association. The club is admitted on the condition that they change their name to Voetbalvereniging (vv) Stiens. Due to Terrein Moundyk not being available for football in the winter months, the membership have to find themselves a new ground. Eventually, a lease agreement is concluded with a local smallholder, Jan K. bij de Ley, who allows the club to use one of his pastures, situated at Schilweg (Skilwei). Due to the surface of the pitch being extremely uneven, it is given the nickname De Bult (‘The Bump’). For the 1932-33 season, vv Stiens is placed in FVB’s bottom division, Sunday Division 3. The club makes its league debut in an away game against vv Dokkum Reserves. Ominously, Stiens’ winger Cor Poortvliet breaks his collarbone in this debut match. Shortly after the foundation of vv Stiens, the other two clubs in Stiens, SBO and VIOS, fold, as the membership of both prefer to join the FVB club.
1935 / Finishing as runners-up in FVB Sunday Division 3, 2 points behind champions vv Leeuwarder Boys, vv Stiens manages to win promotion to FVB Division 2 following a round of play-offs.
1937 / Clinching the title in FVB Sunday Division 2, vv Stiens fails to win promotion in the championship play-offs against FVC III and vv HZC Reserves.
1939 / A first set of dressing rooms is put in place at Terrein Schilweg.
1947 / Obtaining the title in FVB Sunday Division 2, vv Stiens accedes to FVB Sunday Division 1. In the summer of 1947, a team of the so-called Koninklijke Nederlandse Heidemaatschappij (Royal Netherlands’ Association for Wasteland Redevelopment) is invited to improve the condition of the pitch at Schilweg, which is also considerably extended.
1950 / Finishing bottom of the table in FVB Sunday Division 1, vv Stiens ultimately succeeds in avoiding the drop in a set of promotion-relegation matches. In the summer of 1950, fencing is put in place around the pitch at Terrein Schilweg. That same year, the club hires its first proper coach, Mr K. Delgrosso from Leeuwarden.
1952 / Clinching the title in FVB Sunday Division 1, vv Stiens accedes to KNVB District North’s Sunday League 4 for the first time. The successful coach is K. Delgrosso.
1958 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 4A with coach K. Delgrosso, vv Stiens drops back into FVB Sunday Division 1.
1964 / vv Stiens finishes as runners-up in FVB Sunday Division 1 behind champions vv Sint Jacob.
1965 / Champions in FVB Sunday Division 1A, 2 points ahead of closest rivals vv Blue Boys, vv Stiens manages a return to Sunday League 4 after an absence of seven seasons. The decisive points are clinched in an away win at vv Akkrum. The successful coach is Mr Dutrieux.
1966 / Given that Stiens and the municipality in which it is situated, Leeuwarderadeel, has a considerable Reformed community, which observes strict Sunday rest, vv Stiens, a Sunday club, has very few Protestant members. To allow Reformed youths to play organised football, an initiative is taken by Piet Elgersma to form a Saturday club, which is given the name vv CSL (‘Christelijke Sportvereniging Leeuwarderadeel’). The new club rents a piece of farmland from a local smallholder, Mr Woudstra, at Brédyk, situated at the back of Café Gabe to the north of Stiens. The new club starts its life in competitive football in FVB Saturday Division 3.
1969 / Probably after the addition of a branch for netball, vv CSL changes the meaning of its acronym from Christelijke Sportvereniging Leeuwarderadeel to Combinatie Sport Leeuwarderadeel. Also in 1969, after years of talking, municipal authorities in Leeuwarderadeel present a plan to have a new sports park laid out in Stiens to the north of Aldlânsdyk.
1971 / Clinching the title in FVB Saturday Division 3, vv CSL wins promotion to FVB Saturday Division 2.
1972 / Defeating its last remaining rivals, vv Foarût (2-0), vv CSL clinches the title in FVB Saturday Division 2A – eventually finishing 6 points ahead of vv Foarût in the final table. As such, the club wins promotion to FVB Saturday Division 1. The successful coach is Bertus Damhuis.
1973 / Coached by Mr Evenhuis, vv Stiens finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 4A, thus dropping back into FVB Sunday Division 1. That season, vv CSL and its coach Bertus Damhuis do not fare better, finishing in joint last place in FVB Saturday Division 1B with vv Rood Geel (za) and dropping back into FVB Saturday Division 2 following a tie-break match. For the start of the 1973-74 season, after several years of work, the newly laid-out Gemeentelijk Sportpark It Gryn is inaugurated by Leeuwarderadeel’s mayor, Mr Boschma. The new park, consisting of three pitches, is taken in use by vv Stiens as well as vv CSL, with both clubs abandoning their original grounds, Terrein Schilweg and Terrein Woudstra. The main pitch of Sportpark It Gryn is used by the first team of both clubs.
1974 / Finishing in third place in FVB Sunday Division 1, vv Stiens wins direct promotion to Sunday League 4 due to extra promotion places being available following the introduction of a Zondag Hoofdklasse as the new top tier of the Sunday pyramid, on top of Sunday League 1. The successful coach is Klaas Ringia.
1975 / The netball branch of vv CSL breaks away from the club, continuing life independently.
1976 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4A, 1 point ahead of vv Geel Wit, vv Stiens accedes to Sunday League 3 for the first time. The decisive points are obtained in an away win at vv Geel Wit on the last day of the season. The successful coach is Klaas Ringia. That same year, a sports hall is inaugurated at Sportpark It Gryn, the so-called Ielehal. The canteen of the hall also serves as the clubhouse of vv Stiens and vv CSL. Also in 1976, vv CSL player Siemke Bergsma moves to SC Cambuur – although it is unclear if he ever made it to that club’s first team.
1977 / Reaching the final of District North’s Regional Cup, the so-called Districtsbeker, following successive defeats of vv Bellingwolde, vv Gorredijk, vv Stânfries, SC Franeker, vv CAB, LVV Friesland, and vv Gieten, without conceding a single goal. In the final, played at vv Sint Annaparochie’s Sportpark De Waaie, the club has the better of former national league club vv Zwartemeer (2-1). The successful coach is Klaas Ringia. Following the Regional Cup win, vv Stiens is invited to take part in a competition against the other Regional Cup winners in a post-season competition at KNVB’s Headquarters in Zeist. Taking on the likes of RKSV Rohda Raalte and RKVV Venlosche Boys, vv Stiens ultimately fails to take home the nationwide non-league cup. Meanwhile, vv CSL misses out on promotion by a whisker, finishing as runners-up in FVB Saturday Division 1A behind champions vv HJSC.
1978 / A fourth pitch is added to the set-up at Gemeentelijk Sportpark It Gryn.
1979 / Clinching the title in FVB Saturday Division 1A, 11 points ahead of runners-up vv NOK, vv CSL wins promotion to KNVB District North’s Saturday League 4 for the first time, with the decisive points being clinched in a 3-1 home win against vv Nijland. The successful coach is Thomas Haan. That summer, vv Stiens entertains professional league side PEC Zwolle in a friendly match at Sportpark It Gryn (result unknown).
1980 / vv CSL reaches the semifinal of District North’s Regional Cup, in which the club is knocked out by ACV.
1983 / Coached by Siep van der Leest, vv Stiens finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 4 after seven seasons.
1984 / Finishing in eighth place in District North’s Saturday League 4A, vv CSL avoids relegation to the ranks of FVB following a successful round of promotion-relegation play-offs. That same year, former vv CSL youth player Loek Iedema, who had moved to SC Cambuur’s youth academy in 1981, makes his professional debut in SC Cambuur’s first team.
1986 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4A, 3 points ahead of closest followers vv DTD, vv Stiens manages a return to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Piet Katje. The 1985-86 season goes down as a felicitous one for football in Stiens, given that vv CSL also wins a title, finishing top of the table in District North’s Saturday League 4A, 4 points ahead of runners-up CVV Bolswardia. As such, the club accedes to Saturday League 3 for the first time. The successful coach is Jaap Zijlstra. Also in 1986, after two years in SC Cambuur’s first team, Loek Iedema returns to vv CSL.
1992 / Coached by Uilke Damstra, vv CSL finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Saturday League 3A, thus dropping back into Saturday League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Workum.
1993 / Coached by Hans Blom, vv CSL finishes in second-last place in District North’s Saturday League 4B, thus suffering its second relegation in a row and descending into FVB Hoofdklasse along with bottom club vv WTOC. Also in 1993, a new clubhouse is built for vv Stiens and vv CSL at Gemeentelijk Sportpark It Gryn, with the foundation stone being laid by former chairmen B.H. Snoek (vv Stiens) and A. Lycklama à Nijeholt (vv CSL).
1994 / Coached by Gerrie Schouwenaar, vv Stiens finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Read Swart. Meanwhile, vv CSL experiences its third (!) relegation in a row, finishing bottom of the table in FVB Zaterdag Hoofdklasse and thus descending into FVB Division 1 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv WTOC.
1996 / vv Stiens finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4A, 7 points behind champions vv Rood Geel (zo). Meanwhile, vv CSL manages a fourth place in FVB Saturday Division 1A, being placed in Sunday League 5 for the new season following the abolition of the FVB and all other KNVB sub-branches.
1997 / vv Stiens finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4H, 12 points behind runaway champions vv Nicator. Meanwhile, vv CSL clinches the title in District North’s Saturday League 5D following a tie-break match against SC Berlikum. As such, the club accedes to Saturday League 4.
2001 / Champions in District North’s Saturday League 4B, 2 points ahead of vv OKVC, vv CSL wins promotion to Saturday League 3. The successful coach is Wichard de Haan.
2003 / Coached by Klaas Dijkstra, vv CSL finishes in tenth place in District North’s Saturday League 3B, suffering relegation to Saturday League 4 after an unsuccessful round of promotion-relegation play-offs, along with the two direct drop-outs, vv Grijpskerk and ZVV Haulerwijkse Boys.
2004 / Finishing as runners-up in District North’s Saturday League 4B, 19 points behind runaway champions SC Veenwouden, vv CSL succeeds in winning promotion to Saturday League 3 via the play-offs. The successful coach is Klaas Dijkstra. Also in or around 2004, vv Stiens and vv CSL conclude a partnership deal, which sees both clubs’ youth academies being merged into one under the name CSC (Combinatie-Stiens-CSL).
2005 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4A, 7 points ahead of runners-up vv Warga, vv Stiens manages a return to Sunday League 3 after eleven years. The successful coach is Steffen Hansma.
2010 / In their last season as independent clubs, vv Stiens and vv CSL both manage an eighth place in their respective divisions, District North’s Sunday League 3A and Saturday League 3B. Following the 2009-10 season, both clubs conclude a merger, resulting in the foundation of Sportclub (SC) Stiens, with first team football on Sundays as well as on Saturdays.
2011 / Finishing in third place in District North’s Saturday League 3B, SC Stiens (za) qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which it edges past CVV Bolswardia in R1 (4-4 aggr. & away goals), before being knocked out in the final by League 2 club vv ‘t Fean ’58 (2-1 aggr.).
2013 / Runners-up in District North’s Saturday League 3B, 8 points behind champions ZMVV Zeerobben, SC Stiens (za) qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out vv Nijland in R1 (6-0 aggr.) before being eliminated by vv Rijperkerk in the final (2-2 aggr. & penalty shoot-out). In September 2013, a team of SC Stiens players takes on Tuvalu’s national team, coached by former SC Heerenveen trainer Foppe de Haan, which is on a tour across the Netherlands, playing various matches against non-league opposition. SC Stiens deals the island statelet’s representation a heavy 5-1 defeat.
2014 / After four seasons in Sunday League 3, SC Stiens withdraws its regular first team from the Sunday league pyramid. Henceforth, the club focuses on first team football on Saturdays exclusively.
2016 / Finishing in third place in District North’s Saturday League 3B, SC Stiens qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, easing past vv Minnertsga in the preliminary round (6-1 aggr.) to qualify for the group stage, in which it defeats both of its opponents, vv Marum (1-2) and vv Heerenveense Boys (4-2). As a result, marking a first in the history of football in Stiens, SC Stiens wins promotion to Saturday League 2. The successful coach is Riemer Kooistra.
2023 / Runners-up in Saturday League 2K, 13 points behind runaway champions FC Burgum, SC Stiens qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by CVV VEV ’67 (0-2).
2024 / Runners-up in Saturday League 2K, 2 points behind champions vv Heerenveense Boys, SC Stiens qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club draws a bye in R1, going on to eliminate vv RSC in R2 (6-0) and GVAV-Rapiditas in R3 (2-2 & penalty shoot-out). In the final, played at vv Harkemase Boys’ ground, Sportpark De Bosk Oost, SC Stiens defeats vv Hoogezand 3-1 (goals by Ate Ruisch, Almer Hietkamp, and Huub Klijnsma). As a result, SC Stiens achieves a historic promotion to League 1, the sixth tier of the Netherlands’ football pyramid. The successful coach is Rene Dijkstra.

Note – Apart from various open sources, two anniversary books were consulted to write this historic overview: “50 jaar vv Stiens 1932-1982. Vijftig jaar geschiedenis van een voetbalclub in Friesland”, by C.M. Warmerdam & “vv CSL 1966-1991”, by Piet Tulner & Koos Boorsma. Thanks to SC Stiens' board for allowing me to use this important source material.