Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: VSV Vreeswijk (1969-2023) / SV Geinoord (1969-1980)

Sportpark Zandveld, Nieuwegein (formerly VSV Vreeswijk / SV Geinoord)

Netherlands, province: Utrecht

July 2023 / no match visited

Timeline

± 1921 / In the village of Vreeswijk, to the south of Utrecht, improvised football matches are played by youngsters on a pasture owned by a local smallholder, Teunis Verweij, whose farm is situated halfway between Vreeswijk proper and Tull en ‘t Waal. In the following years, the enthusiasm for the newly discovered sport increases.
1926 / A group of players who took part in the kickabouts at Teunis Verweij’s farm decides to form a proper football club, which is given the name Vreeswijksche Sportvereeniging (VSV) Vreeswijk. The founding meeting is held at Siem van der Sluizen’s café. The first chairman of the new club is Hennie van Dijk. As VSV Vreeswijk joins the Utrechtsche Provinciale Voetbalbond (UPVB, often referred to as UVB), the Utrecht sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, later renamed KNVB), the club is placed in UPVB (Sunday) Division 3. Initially, matches are played on a pasture situated on the flood plains of the Lek River, owned by a local smallholder, Mr Scholman, but the club switches to a pitch at Oude Kerkweg, much closer to the village proper, put at the disposal of the footballers by Mr Kop, towards the end of the same year.
1935 / Abandoning Terrein Oude Kerkweg after nine years, VSV Vreeswijk settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Handelskade.
1938 / Moving away from Terrein Handelskade after three years, VSV Vreeswijk settles on a newly laid-out pitch on the flood plains of the Lek River, at Lekdijk, close to Frederiksoord.
1946 / With the club’s performances in the pre-war years having been poorly documented, VSV Vreeswijk now wins promotion from the ranks of the UPVB (UVB or, officially since 1940: Afdeling Utrecht) for the first time, thus acceding to District West I’s Sunday League 4 for the first time.
1950 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4L, VSV Vreeswijk drops back to Afdeling Utrecht Sunday Division 1.
1959 / Managing a return after nine years in Afdeling Utrecht, VSV Vreeswijk accedes to District West I’s Sunday League 4 for a second spell at this level.
1960 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, 1 point ahead of closest rivals SV Zwaluwen Vooruit, VSV Vreeswijk wins promotion to Sunday League 3 for the first time.
1962 / Finishing in joint last position in District West I’s Sunday League 3B with HVV De Zebra’s, VSV Vreeswijk meets the club from Hilversum in a tie-break match, played in Soest. As a sole Jan Klaassen goal for De Zebra’s in extra time decides the tie, VSV Vreeswijk drops back into Sunday League 4 after two seasons.
1969 / Moving away from Terrein Lekdijk after more than thirty years, VSV Vreeswijk settles on a newly laid-out municipal park, Gemeentelijk Sportpark Hoog-Zandveld – later usually referred to simply as Sportpark Zandveld. The park is inaugurated by Frits Schneiders, former mayor of Vreeswijk. VSV Vreeswijk has to share the facilities with Saturday club SV Geinoord, which uses one of the side-pitches as its main pitch.
1970 / Champions in District West I’s Saturday League 4H, 3 points ahead of runners-up SV Saestum, VSV Vreeswijk manages a return to Sunday League 3.
1971 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3D, VSV Vreeswijk drops back into Sunday League 4. Also in 1971, the communities of Vreeswijk and nearby Jutphaas merge into the planned town of Nieuwegein.
1973 / VSV Vreeswijk finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, 3 points behind champions and local rivals JSV.
1977 / As Sportpark Zandveld is extended with several pitches further to the north, a start is made on the construction of a clubhouse for SV Geinoord alongside the pitch situated the furthest to the northwest.
1978 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, 1 point ahead of closest followers DEV, VSV Vreeswijk accedes to Sunday League 3, managing to hold its own at this level quite undisturbedly in the following years.
1980 / Having played on one of the side-pitches of VSV Vreeswijk for the past eleven years, SV Geinoord now moves to the northwest of the park, which is given the name Sportpark Parkhout – with the official inauguration of that club’s new clubhouse following in the early months of 1981.
1990 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3B, VSV Vreeswijk drops back into Sunday League 4 after twelve seasons, along with the club finishing in second-last place, SV Saestum.
1993 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, VSV Vreeswijk descends into Afdeling Utrecht along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Brederodes. It heralds the end of an uninterrupted spell of League 3 and League 4 football of 34 years.
1996 / As Afdeling Utrecht (UVB) is abolished along with all other KNVB sub-branches, VSV Vreeswijk is placed in the newly created Central District’s Sunday League 5.
2000 / Finishing as runners-up in the Central District’s Sunday League 5A, 6 points behind champions NVC ’89, VSV Vreeswijk wins promotion to Sunday League 4 after a successful round of play-offs.
2001 / VSV Vreeswijk finishes as runners-up in the Central District’s Sunday League 4H, 2 points behind champions SV UTS.
2002 / VSV Vreeswijk finishes as runners-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, 4 points behind champions SV Houten.
2003 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4G, 4 points ahead of closest followers vv Utrecht, VSV Vreeswijk manages a return to Sunday League 3 after thirteen years. The successful coach is Rob Zomer.
2004 / Runaway champions in District West I’s Sunday League 3D, 13 points ahead of runners-up SV Houten, VSV Vreeswijk wins promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first time in club history. The successful coach is Rob Zomer.
2005 / In the best season in club history, VSV Vreeswijk finishes in seventh place in Sunday League 2B. Following the 2004-05 season, the successful coach Rob Zomer leaves the club, with Frans Vermeulen being appointed as his successor.
2006 / Coached by Frans Vermeulen, VSV Vreeswijk finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 2B, thus dropping back into Sunday League 3 after two seasons, along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Hillegom.
2007 / Coached by John van Vliet, VSV Vreeswijk finishes in tenth place in District West I’s Sunday League 3D, going on to suffer defeat in the promotion-relegation play-offs. As a result, the club experiences its second relegation in a row, dropping back into Sunday League 4 along with direct drop-outs vv OSM ’75 and vv APWC.
2010 / Finishing in fourth place in District West I’s Sunday League 4G, VSV Vreeswijk qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by ASC Waterwijk (5-3 aggr.).
2016 / Finishing in fifth place in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, VSV Vreeswijk qualifies for the play-offs. Following successive wins over vv AS ’80 (4-2 aggr.) and SV Real Sranang (4-2 aggr.), the club achieves a return to Sunday League 3 after an absence of nine years.2018 / Coached by Ronald Cornet, VSV Vreeswijk finishes in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3D, thus dropping back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club vv AS ’80.
2019 / Runaway champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4F, 18 points ahead of closest followers DWSV, VSV Vreeswijk manages a direct return to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Ronald Cornet.
2022 / Finishing in ninth place in District West I’s Sunday League 3D in the 2021-22 season, VSV Vreeswijk withdraws from first team football for the new season due to a lack of players.
2023 / After a last season without a first team, in which the club competed with only lower teams in recreational divisions, VSV Vreeswijk concludes a merger with neighbour club SV Geinoord, resulting in the foundation of Sportverening (SV) Parkhout. All activities move to SV Geinoord’s Sportpark Parkhout. A new clubhouse is constructed for SV Parkhout alongside the old Pitch/Veld 4 of Sportpark Parkhout, which is inaugurated in the fall of 2023. The new club only enters a first team in the Saturday pyramid, which starts its life in Saturday League 2, the level of the former SV Geinoord. Meanwhile, at Sportpark Zandveld, the clubhouse is knocked down and the old stand which had graced VSV Vreeswijk’s main pitch is dismantled and sold to vv OSM ’75. On the location of VSV Vreeswijk’s former park, new facilities are constructed for the local hockey club, MHC Nieuwegein.