Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: DTO '39 (1966-1993) / vv Geel-Zwart (1966-1996) / UDEET (1983-1996) / vv UDEET Geel-Zwart (1996-1998) / SVV '91 (1995-2025) / TVV (1996-2023)

Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark "Sportpark Horstlinde", Enschede (formerly DTO '39 / vv Geel-Zwart / UDEET / vv UDEET Geel-Zwart / SVV '91 / TVV)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

17 V 2025 / SVV '91 - vv Victoria '28 2-2 / District East, Saturday League 5E (= NL level 10)

Timeline

1920 / Foundation of a football club in Enschede, which takes on the name vv Geel-Zwart. The club joins the so-called Twenthsche Voetbalbond (TVB), the Twente sub-branch of the official Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, renamed KNVB in 1929). It is unclear where this club’s pitch or pitches prior to 1966 were situated.
1923 / Winning promotion from TVB (Sunday) Division 1, vv Geel-Zwart accedes to NVB (Sunday) League 4 for the first time.
1924 / Champions in District East’s League 4B, 7 points ahead of runners-up LVV (Lochem), vv Geel-Zwart goes on to win the championship play-offs, thus winning its second promotion in a row and acceding to League 3.
1925 / Champions in District East’s League 3A, 1 point ahead of closest rivals Luctor et Emergo, vv Geel-Zwart goes on to win the championship play-offs, thus winning its third promotion in a row acceding to League 2 – i.e. the second tier of the Netherlands’ football pyramid at the time.
1927 / In the best season in club history, vv Geel-Zwart manages a seventh place in District East’s League 2A.
1931 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s League 2A, vv Geel-Zwart drops back into League 3 after six seasons.
1935 / Finishing in joint first place in District East’s League 3A with AVC La Première, vv Geel-Zwart must have met the club from Almelo in a title tie-breaker, but the result of the match cannot be traced in open sources. At any rate, both clubs fail to win promotion and stay put in League 3.
1939 / vv Geel-Zwart finishes as runners-up in District East’s League 3A, 5 points behind champions GVV Eilermark. That same year, a new club sees the daylight in Enschede, DTO (acronym for ‘Door Trainen Overwinnen’). Founded as a Roman Catholic club, DTO does not join the official Netherlands’ FA, successfully applying for membership of the Roman Catholic federation RKF (Rooms-Katholieke Federatie) instead, being placed in the RKF sub-branch RKUVB (Rooms-Katholieke Utrechtse Voetbalbond).
1940 / As the Netherlands are occupied by the German Reich, all football associations except for the official Netherlands’ FA (renamed NVB for the duration of the war) cease their activities to prevent being wound up by German authorities. As so many other RKF clubs, DTO now joins the NVB, being placed in Afdeling Twente, as the Twente NVB sub-branch TVB was officially renamed in 1940.
1942 / Probably at the behest of NVB authorities, DTO adds the year of its foundation to the club name, thus becoming DTO ’39.
1948 / Winning promotion from Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1, DTO ’39 accedes to KNVB District East’s Sunday League 4 for the first time.
1950 / After nineteen years in League 3, vv Geel-Zwart now finishes bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3A, dropping back into Sunday League 4. Meanwhile, DTO ’39 manages a fourth place in District East’s Sunday League 4A, the best result in club history.
1951 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4A, vv Geel-Zwart suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1 and thus dropping out of the ranks of the KNVB district divisions after 28 years.
1955 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4A with only 5 points from five draws, DTO ’39 avoids relegation to Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1 in the promotion-relegation play-offs.
1956 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4A for the second year running, DTO ’39 now cannot escape its fate, suffering defeat in the promotion-relegation play-offs and dropping back into Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1.
1958 / Winning promotion from Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1, vv Geel-Zwart manages a return to Sunday League 4 after an absence of seven seasons.
1960 / vv Geel-Zwart finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 4A, 4 points behind champions KVV Losser.
1962 / Finishing bottom of the table in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, DTO ’39 descends into Division 2 of the aforementioned league system.
1964 / Finishing bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4A, vv Geel-Zwart drops back into Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1 after six years. At that level, the club meets DTO ’39, which won the 1963-64 edition of Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 2A, 2 points ahead of closest followers GSV Glane, thus managing a return to Division 1 after two years.
1965 / Finishing in second-last place in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, DTO ’39 drops back into Division 2 along with bottom club VSV ’50.
1966 / Champions in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 2A, 6 points ahead of runners-up RSC, DTO ’39 wins promotion to Division 1 of the aforementioned league system. That same year, on May 21st, vv Geel-Zwart and DTO ’39 move into the newly laid-out Sportpark Horstlinde on the northern outskirts of Enschede as groundsharers, with each club disposing of its own main pitch. In total, the park consists of no fewer than six football pitches. The park was conceived by Enschede’s alderman for sports affairs, Jan Horstman of the social-democratic party (PvdA) – who had also played a decisive role in the construction of Sportpark Het Diekman in the 1950s as well as the merger between SC Enschede and SV De Enschedese Boys to form FC Twente ’65. Horstman himself performs the inaugural ceremony of the new park at Horstlindelaan.
1969 / Champions in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, 5 points ahead of runners-up SV Wilhelminaschool, vv Geel-Zwart wins promotion to Sunday League 4.
1970 / Unable to cope with the League 4 level, vv Geel-Zwart finishes bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4A, thus dropping back into Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1 after just one season.
1971 / Finishing in second-last place in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, vv Geel-Zwart suffers back-to-back relegations, descending into Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 2 along with bottom club SV TVO.
1972 / As Jan Horstman, the alderman who had been the driving force behind the new Sportpark Horstlinde, celebrates his seventieth birthday, four years after the end of his 23-year-long tenure as alderman, the park is renamed Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark in his honour. In a ceremony taking place on October 7th, 1972, Horstman himself reveals the name plate at the entrance of the park.
± 1973 / Foundation of a recreational football club by Enschede’s Surinamese community. The team takes on the name Sportvereniging (SV) Real, playing its football on a pitch not far from the modern-day Textile Museum in Enschede.
1975 / Jan Horstman, the former alderman who gave his name to the park shared by vv Geel-Zwart and DTO ’39, passes away at the age of 72.
1977 / Finishing bottom of the table in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, DTO ’39 drops back into Division 2 along with the club in second-last place, FC Flamingo’s. Meanwhile, in a reversal of fortune, vv Geel-Zwart finishes as runners-up in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 2A, winning promotion to Division 1 along with champions WVV ’34, which had finished 7 points ahead.
1979 / Finishing in second-last place in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, vv Geel-Zwart descends into Division 2 of the said league system along with bottom club vv Hoeve Vooruit. Also in or around 1979, a new Surinamese recreational football team sees the daylight in Enschede, Takdier Boys. This club plays its football on a pitch situated at Gerrit Jan van Heekpark.
1980 / Champions in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 2A, 4 points ahead of runners-up VC Fleringen, vv Geel-Zwart wins promotion to Division 1 of this league system.
1981 / Finishing bottom of the table in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, vv Geel-Zwart drops back into Division 2 after just one season, along with the club finishing in second-last place, SV Prinses Juliana (PJ).
1982 / Joint runners-up in TVB Sunday Division 2A along with SV Delden, 5 points behind champions vv Zuid Eschmarke, vv Geel-Zwart must have won a tie-break match against Delden for an extra promotion place, as the club can be found in Division 1 for the new season, with SV Delden still playing its football in Division 2. Definite information about this play-off could not be traced.
1983 / DTO ’39 concludes a merger with a local handball club as well as rugby club RC Drienerlo-Tex (founded in 1969 and previously called TEX Rugby Club and RC Tex-Drienerlo) to form DTO ’39 – with the acronym taking on the new meaning ‘Door Techniek (instead of: Trainen) Overwinnen’. The rugby club moves its activities to the Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark, moving in with DTO ’39 (football) and vv Geel-Zwart. Probably that same year, the park saw the arrival of a third football club, UDEET (‘Union Deportivo de Emigrantes Españoles de Twente’), a club formed by Enschede’s Spanish emigree community. Possibly, UDEET had already been formed previously as a recreational club, but no information regarding the matter is available. Settling down as groundsharers at Horstlindelaan, UDEET is placed in TVB Sunday Division 2 for the 1983-84 season.
1985 / Finishing in second-last place in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, vv Geel-Zwart drops back into Division 2 along with bottom club EFC Prinses Wilhelmina. In the remaining eleven years of its existence, vv Geel-Zwart did not manage to climb out of the bottom division of Afdeling Twente. On the other hand, UDEET clinches the 1984-85 Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 2A title, 1 point ahead of runners-up GSV Glane, and thus acceding to Division 1.
1986 / Finishing bottom of the table in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, UDEET drops back into Division 2 after just one season.
1991 / Runners-up in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 2A, UDEET goes on to win promotion to Division 1 along with champions vv Roombeek, which had gathered 5 more points than them. That same year, the Surinamese recreational teams SV Real and Takdier Boys conclude a merger to form SVV (Surinaamse Voetbalvereniging) ’91 and successfully applying for KNVB membership. Starting its life as a KNVB club in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 2, SVV ’91 settles at the so-called Stadsveld, a municipal sports pitch also used by SV Mediterraneo (at Usselerrondweg, a location occupied by garden centre Intratuin nowadays).
1992 / Finishing bottom of the table in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 1A, UDEET descends into Division 2 of this league system.
1993 / After an existence of 54 years – the last eleven of which the club steadfastly finished bottom or second-from-bottom in Afdeling Twente’s lowest division, Sunday Division 2 – the football branch of DTO ’39 folds, ceasing all activities. With UDEET and vv Geel-Zwart still sharing the eastern half of the Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark, the DTO ’39 clubhouse continues to be used by the club’s rugby branch, which takes on the name ERC (Enschedese Rugbyclub) ’69.
1995 / In October 1995, SV Mediterraneo moves away from Terrein Stadsveld at Usselerrondweg, moving in with UDI at Sportpark Wesselerbrink-Midden. Most probably, this departure coincided with SVV ’91 also leaving this municipal park (which was subsequently removed) and settling on the southwesternmost pitch of the Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark to take the place of the defunct football club DTO ’39, going on to share the former DTO clubhouse with rugby club ERC ’69.
1996 / Two groundsharers at Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark, vv Geel-Zwart and UDEET, conclude a merger to form vv UDEET/Geel-Zwart. As both predecessor clubs played their football in Afdeling Twente Sunday Division 2, the new club is placed at that level – although it is renamed District East’s Sunday League 6 in the summer of 1996 in a reorganisation of the football pyramid which sees the abolition of all KNVB sub-branches. Also in 1996, a new club sees the daylight in Enschede, TVV (Turkse Voetbalvereniging), geared to the city’s Turkish community. With all probability, TVV played its football at Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark from the outset, thus groundsharing with vv UDEET/Geel-Zwart and SVV ’91. TVV starts its life as a competitive club in Sunday League 6, the same level at wich SVV ’91 and vv UDEET/Geel-Zwart could be found. Initially, TVV shared the eastern main pitch of the ground with vv UDEET/Geel-Zwart, while SVV ’91 played on DTO ‘39’s former main pitch at the southwestern corner of the park.
1997 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 6A, 8 points ahead of closest followers vv Manderveen, SVV ’91 wins promotion to Sunday League 5 for the first time.
1998 / Unable to cope with the League 5 level, SVV ’91 finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 5A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 6 after just one season, along with bottom club UDI. Also in 1998, the short-lived merger club vv UDEET/Geel-Zwart folds, ceasing all activities after two relatively anonymous seasons in Sunday League 6.
2000 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 6A, 1 point ahead of closest rivals LSV Lonneker, TVV wins promotion to Sunday League 5 for the first time. The successful coach is Veli Hayta. Also in or around 2000, TVV moves its first team football to the southwesternmost pitch of the Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark, the former DTO ’39 main pitch, which had already been in use by SVV ‘91’s first team. As the two clubs have a relatively small membership, more pitches of the park are allocated to rugby club ERC ’96 instead.
2002 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 5B, 5 points behind champions RKSV EMOS, TVV goes on to win the promotion play-offs, thus acceding to Sunday League 4 for the first time. The successful coach is Veli Hayta. Meanwhile, down in Sunday League 6A, SVV ’91 also finishes as runners-up, 6 points behind champions HVV Hengelo, going on to win the promotion play-offs to accede to Sunday League 5. The successful coach is Anand Hardoar.
2003 / Still coached by Veli Hayta, TVV finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 4A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 5 after just one season, along with bottom club vv Zuid Eschmarke. Meanwhile, in Sunday League 5A, SVV ’91 finishes in second-last place with coach Anand Hardoar, thus descending into Sunday League 6 along with bottom club vv Hardenberg ’85.
2004 / Finishing in fourth place in District East’s Sunday League 5B, TVV goes on to win the promotion play-offs, thus managing an immediate return to Sunday League 4. The successful coach is Veli Hayta.
2007 / Coached by Mehmet Kocoz, TVV finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 4A, thus dropping back into Sunday League 5 along with bottom club SV Vosta. Meanwhile, down in Sunday League 6A, SVV ’91 are runaway champions, 11 points ahead of runners-up BSC Unisson. As such, the club manages a return to Sunday League 5 after four seasons. The successful coach is Anand Hardoar.
2008 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 5B, TVV goes on to win the promotion play-offs, thus acceding to Sunday League 4. The successful coach is Mehmet Kocoz.
2009 / Coached by René Dikken, SVV ’91 finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 5B, thus dropping back into Sunday League 6 along with bottom club vv DEO.
2010 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 4A, TVV qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club tops a group with vv Sportclub Lochem (5-0 home win) and SV Colmschate ’33 (2-2 away draw). As such, the club, coached by Veli Hayta, accedes to Sunday League 3 for the first time. Meanwhile, down in Sunday League 6A, SVV ’91 finishes in third place, going on to suffer elimination in R1 of the promotion play-offs against DTC ’07 (3-3 aggr. & penalty shoot-out).
2011 / Unable to cope with the level in League 3, TVV, still coached by Veli Hayta, finishes bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3A, dropping back into Sunday League 4 after just one season along with the club finishing in second-last place, FC Berghuizen. Meanwhile, down in Sunday League 6B, SVV ’91 finishes in fourth place, going on to suffer elimination in R1 of the promotion play-offs against AVC La Première (2-2 aggr. & away goals).
2013 / Although only managing a tenth place in District East’s Sunday League 6A, SVV ’91 is placed in Sunday League 5 for the new season, as League 6 is abolished due to the dwindling number of clubs.
2015 / Coached by Mete Soygul, TVV finishes bottom of the table in District East’s Sunday League 4B, thus descending into Sunday League 5 along with the club in second-last place, SV Wilhelminaschool. In November 2015, following grave misconduct on the part of some of its players and staff in an away match at AVC La Première, TVV is forbidden from further taking part in Sunday League 5 – the result of a previous conditional punishment due to similar behaviour in a match against HVV Hengelo in March of the same year.
2016 / TVV restarts its life as a competitive club in Sunday League 5.
2018 / SVV ’91 finishes in third place in District East’s Sunday League 5A. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club knocks out SV SDOL in R1 (5-1), only to be eliminated in R2 by vv Diepenheim (5-1 A.E.T.).
2020 / After 29 seasons in the Sunday divisions, SVV ’91 chooses to switch to the Saturday pyramid, being placed in the lowest Saturday division, Saturday League 4.
2023 / Finishing in ninth place in District East’s Saturday League 4G, SVV ’91 descends into the newly created Saturday League 5 along with CVV Achilles, RKSV EMOS, EFC Prinses Wilhelmina 1885, SC Enschede, and bottom club FC Aramea. Also in 2023, TVV abandons the Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark, moving to Sportpark Schreurserve Noord after concluding a groundsharing agreement with CVV Sparta Enschede.
2025 / After spending nearly thirty years at Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark, SVV ’91, the last remaining football club at the park, leaves to move in with FC Aramea at Sportpark Wesselerbrink-Zuid (Noord). The pitch used by SVV ‘91’s first team – and formerly by DTO ’39 and TVV – is due to be removed to make way for housing. The other pitches of the Wethouder Horstman-Sportpark are to remain in use by rugby club ERC ’96.