Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: RKPSC (1995-2024) / PSC (2024-)

Sportpark De Pauwengaard, Pannerden (PSC, formerly RKPSC)

Netherlands, province: Guelders = Gelderland

6 IV 2025 / PSC - RKVV HAVO 0-5 / District East, Sunday League 5D (= NL level 10)

Timeline

1930 / Foundation of a football club in Pannerden, a village in Guelders (Gelderland), with the new club taking on the name Juliana. Instead of seeking affiliation with the official Netherlands’ Football Association (KNVB), Juliana joins the so-called Roomsch-Katholieke Utrechtsche Voetbalbond (RKUVB), a sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Roman-Catholic Football Association RKF (Roomsch-Katholieke Federatie). Also in the 1930s, a second football club must have existed in Pannerden, going by the unusual name Snip. It is unclear where the pitches of these two clubs were situated.
1940 / As the RKUVB and RKF are wound up in the face of the German occupation of the Netherlands, with all football associations being abolished except the official Netherlands’ FA (KNVB, renamed NVB for the duration of the war), Juliana is placed in the KNVB sub-branch in Guelders, officially called Afdeling Gelderland, but mostly referred to colloquially with its pre-war name Gelderse Voetbalbond (GVB).
1945 / Whereas the activities of Juliana ground to a halt in the latter stages of World War II, the decision is taken to form a new club in Pannerden, with the membership consisting of former players of Juliana as well as Snip. The new club is given the name Rooms-Katholieke Pannerdense Sportclub, abbreviated as RKPSC. The club’s first home matches take place at Burgemeester Cremersplein – possibly the old pitch of Juliana.
1946 / Moving away from Burgemeester Cremersplein, RKPSC settles on a pitch laid out on a plot of farmland owned by Ms Van der Velden.
1948 / Coached by Gerrit Holtslag, RKPSC wins promotion from the ranks of Afdeling Gelderland, thus acceding to KNVB District East’s Sunday League 4.
1949 / RKPSC finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 4F, 1 point behind champions vv Union.
1952 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4H, RKPSC drops back into the ranks of Afdeling Gelderland after four seasons.
1954 / RKPSC wins promotion from Afdeling Gelderland Sunday Division 1, thus managing a return to Sunday League 4 after two seasons.
1957 / Moving away from Terrein Van der Velden after eleven years, RKPSC settles on a newly laid-out pitch, situated on a pasture owned by a local smallholder, Mr Hooiman – with the farmland later being taken over by Fren Bakker.
1959 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4E, RKPSC descends into the ranks of Afdeling Gelderland after a spell of five seasons.
1968 / Moving away from Terrein Fren Bakker, RKPSC settles at the newly laid-out Sportpark De Kuiperweide, with the inaugural ceremony being performed by Pannerden’s mayor, Mr Havermans.
1974 / Finishing in fourth place in Afdeling Gelderland Zondag Hoofdklasse, RKPSC wins promotion to Sunday League 4 along with champions SV Cupa as well as MvR, SC Wesepe, and vv Witkampers due to extra promotion places being available following the introduction of a Zondag Hoofdklasse as the new top division of the non-league pyramid. The successful coach is Hennie ten Böhmer.
1978 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4D, 5 points ahead of closest followers Sportclub Doesburg ’65, RKPSC wins promotion to Sunday League 3 for the first time. The successful coach is Gert van Alst.
1981 / Finishing in joint first place in District East’s Sunday League 3C with VVO, RKPSC meets the club from Rozendaal in a tie-break match, played at SV DCS’s Sportpark Hengelder West, attended by no fewer than 3,750 spectators. Going on to win the all-important encounter 2-0, RKPSC achieves a historic promotion to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is René Hattu.
1982 / Coached by René Hattu, RKPSC finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 2A, resulting in the club dropping back into Sunday League 3 after just one season, along with bottom club AGOVV.
1983 / Still coached by René Hattu, RKPSC suffers its second relegation in a row, finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3B and thus descending into Sunday League 4 along with the club in second-last position, vv Dierensche Boys.
1985 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4D, RKPSC is retrograded into the ranks of Afdeling Gelderland along with the club in second-last place, GSV ’38.
1995 / Moving away from Sportpark De Kuiperweide, which falls victim to housing, RKPSC moves to the newly laid-out Sportpark De Pauwengaard.
1996 / As Afdeling Gelderland and all other KNVB sub-branches are abolished in a reorganisation of the lower reaches of the non-league pyramid, RKPSC is placed in the newly created District East’s Sunday League 5.
2002 / Coached by Ruud Pastoors, RKPSC finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 5D, thus being retrograded into Sunday League 6 along with bottom club SV Loil.
2003 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 6F, 9 points ahead of runners-up SVGG, RKPSC manages an immediate return to Sunday League 5. Also in 2003, the construction of the new indoor sports hall in Pannerden, situated right next to Sportpark De Pauwengaard, is completed – a facility mainly used by local omnisport club SV Pajodos.
2004 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 5D, 4 points ahead of closest rivals Sportclub Doesburg, RKPSC manages its second promotion in a row, acceding to Sunday League 4. The successful coach is Harry Fontein.
2005 / As RKPSC celebrates its sixtieth anniversary, the club invites professional league clubs SBV Vitesse and KSK Beveren to Sportpark De Pauwengaard for a gala match.
2007 / Former RKPSC youth goalkeeper Erwin Mulder, who had moved from Pannerden to SBV Vitesse’s youth academy in 2001, makes his full professional debut at Feyenoord Rotterdam. Mulder goes on to have spells at SBV Excelsior, SC Heerenveen, Swansea City FC, and Go Ahead Eagles, ultimately hanging up his boots in the summer of 2024.
2010 / Coached by Henk Pieneman, RKPSC finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 4D, thus dropping back into Sunday League 5 along with bottom club Sportclub Westervoort.
2011 / Runaway champions in District East’s Sunday League 5D, without suffering a single defeat and an impressive 11 points ahead of closest followers RKVV Sprinkhanen, RKPSC manages an immediate return to Sunday League 4.
2013 / Finishing in fourth place in District East’s Sunday League 4D, RKPSC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by SV Bon Boys (7-3 aggr.). That same year, RKPSC severs its links with SV Aerdt, with which the club had had a combined youth academy for over twenty years.
2014 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 4D, 4 points behind champions VVO, RKPSC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against V&AV Pax (2-2 aggr. & penalty shoot-out). In the summer of 2014, the inauguration of the covered stand at Sportpark De Pauwengaard takes place.
2015 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 4D, 2 points behind champions Sportclub Westervoort, RKPSC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by vv Warnsveldse Boys (2-1 aggr.).
2016 / Finishing in fourth place in District East’s Sunday League 4D, RKPSC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out once again in R1, this time by SV Blauw Wit (13-1 aggr.).
2019 / Coached by Bart Vos, RKPSC finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 4D, thus descending into Sunday League 5 along with SC Veluwezoom and bottom club AV&AC Eendracht Arnhem.
2024 / As a provisional deal is concluded between the two clubs in the fall of 2023, RKPSC signs a merger deal with Pannerden’s omnisport club SV Pajodos in February 2024, resulting in the foundation of PSC (Pannerdense Sportclub), which now comprises branches for football, badminton, tennis, gymnastics, and volleyball.