Sportpark Anselderlaan "Sportpark Eygelshoven", Eygelshoven (Laura Hopel Combinatie = LHC, formerly RKEVV Laura)
Netherlands, province: Limburg
28 VI 2025 / Laura Hopel Combinatie - Roda JC Kerkrade 0-12 / Pre-season friendly
Timeline
- 1912 / Foundation of a football club in Eygelshoven, a village in the Netherlands' Province of Limburg hemmed in between Kerkrade and the border with Germany, in the far southeast of the Netherlands. The new club is given the name Emma, joining the Limburgsche Voetbalbond (LVB), the newly founded Limburg sub-branch of the Netherlands' Football Association (NVB).
- 1913 / One year after its foundation, Emma starts its life as a competitive club in the ranks of the LVB. The club's pitch, Terrein Bergbosch, is situated at Boschweg.
- 1914 / After one year as a competitive club, Emma folds, ceasing all activities.
- 1915 / Foundation of a new club in Eygelshoven, which takes on the name DSO (probably meaning 'Door Samenspel Overwinnen') - but a name change is implemented in December of the same year, with the club becoming Rood Wit. The club's pitch is situated at Hopelerweg. DSO / Rood Wit is placed in LVB Division 2B South for the 1915-16 season.
- 1916 / After only one year, Rood Wit folds, ceasing all activities.
- 1917 / Foundation of the so-called Roomsch-Katholieke Limburgsche Voetbalbond (RKLVB), the Limburg sub-branch of the fledgling Roman Catholic Football Federation in the Netherlands, RKF ('Roomsch-Katholieke Federatie'), a rival of the non-religious official Netherlands' Football Association NVB (later KNVB). Following the foundation of the RKLVB, large numbers of football club see the daylight in the universally Catholic Limburg, with one being DOS ('Door Oefening Sterk') from Eygelshoven. It is not clear where this club played its football - possibly at Terrein Hopelerweg, the former ground of the short-lived DSO / Rood Wit in 1915-16.
- 1918 / With DOS moving from Eygelshoven (possibly Terrein Hopelerweg) to a pitch situated in Haanrade, not far from the Rolduc priest academy, football once again disappears from Eygelshoven. To fill the void, a recreational team is formed, Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging (RKVV) Hals Over Kop, which plays its improvised matches on a pitch laid out on a piece of wasteland at Schouffertsbosch. This club does not join any league association.
- 1919 / Foundation of a proper football club in Eygelshoven, possibly on the back of the foundation of RKVV Hals Over Kop in the previous year. The new club is given the name Roomsch-Katholieke Eygelshovensche Voetbalvereeniging (RKEVV) Emma. However, as the club files for membership of the RKLVB (Roomsch-Katholieke Limburgsche Voetbalbond), RKEVV Emma is ordered to change its name in order to avoid confusion with an older club bearing the same name. Thereupon, the new denomination RKEVV Laura is chosen – Laura being the coalmine in Eygelshoven, which opened in 1902 and was named after Laura Wackers-Schümmer, the wife of one of the owners of the mine, Mr Anton Wackers. For the 1919-20 season, the new club is placed in RKLVB Division 3D. It is not sure where RKEVV Laura began its existence, possibly on a plot of land referred to locally at Terrein Aan de Lange Wei.
- 1920 / Finishing in third place in RKLVB Division 3B, RKEVV Laura is placed in Division 2 for the new season. This decision comes down to the fact that the club had been allowed to enter a reserves' team in Division 3.
- 1921 / Winning back-to-back titles, RKEVV Laura finishes top of the table in RKLVB Division 2. In a reorganisation of the Roman Catholic league association's pyramid, which sees the addition of a third national division on top of the sub-associations' divisions, RKEVV Laura is given the choice between promotion to RKLVB Division 1 or RKF Division 3 - with the club choosing the latter, thus making two steps ahead instead of one. Also in 1921, Laura moves from Terrein Aan de Lange Wei to Terrein Boschweg, the same location as the former pitch of Emma, the short-lived first football club in Eygelshoven.
- 1925 / Clinching the title in RKF National Division 3B, RKEVV Laura goes on to win the championship play-offs against RKSVV Simpelveld and RKVV Furenthela (the latter from Voerendaal), resulting in the club gaining promotion to RKF National Division 2. Following this success, the membership of the club makes the fateful decision to change allegiance, leaving the RKF and joining the official Netherlands' FA (NVB). However, as it turns out, Terrein Boschweg does not meet NVB requirements, the result being that the club is deprived of a home ground, as no immediate solution is on hand - possibly because local church authorities forbid anyone from helping the club out. Consequently, in the 1925-26 season, only Laura's lower teams play their football in the ranks of NVB's sub-branch in Limburg, LVB, with no first team taking part in any competition.
- 1926 / Pressed down by the unability of finding a new home ground, RKEVV Laura leaves the NVB. Refraining from a return to the RKLVB, Laura lives on as a recreational club for the time being.
- 1927 / After one year of near-inactivity, RKEVV Laura is re-established under the leadership of Mr Ligtvoet and Mr Boerboom. The club joins the RKLVB league system, having to start anew at the bottom level of the Roman Catholic football pyramid. The club settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Waubacherweg, on a plot of land owned by the local butcher, Mr Brul, referred to locally as Terrein Achter de Bruinkool. For the 1927-28 season, RKEVV Laura is placed in RKLVB Division 1. Also in 1927, a completely new football club sees the daylight in (De) Hopel, a workers’ colony situated halfway between Kerkrade and Eygelshoven; the new club, Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging (RKVV) Hopel, joins the same league association as RKEVV Laura. The new club, which is placed in RKLVB Division 2, finds a home at Hopelerweg, probably the location of the former DSO pitch in the 1910s.
- 1928 / Clinching the title in RKLVB Division 2D, RKVV Hopel wins promotion to Division 1 of the same league system, where it meets RKEVV Laura for the first time. The first encounter between the two clubs results in a 3-1 win for Laura. That same year, RKVV Hopel abandons Terrein Hopelerweg, settling on a newly laid-out pitch at the crossroads of Molenweg and Kommerveldlaan, referred to locally as Wei van Berns (wei = pasture), because it was owned by Hein Berns, Eygelshoven's milkman.
- 1929 / Finishing as runners-up in RKLVB Division 1D behind GVC from Groenstraat, RKEVV Laura wins promotion to RKF Overgangsklasse B - Overgangsklasse being the new name of what used to be called RKF National Division 3.
- 1930 / Champions in RKLVB Overgangsklasse B, RKEVV Laura wins promotion to RKF National Division 2F (with RKF’s national divisions being renamed IVCB in 1932, Interdiocesane Voetbalcompetitiebond). The decisive points are clinched in a 3-1 home win over RKVV Zwart Wit from Eys. Meanwhile, RKVV Hopel is equally successful, clinching the title in RKLVB Division 1C following a 5-1 home win over RKVV Chèvremont. Aa s result of this, the club wins promotion to RKF Overgangsklasse. Also in 1930, a new club sees the daylight in Eygelshoven, RKVV Julia, which joins the RKLVB and is placed in RKLVB Division 2. This new club plays its home matches at Terrein De Vink.
- 1931 / Moving away from Terrein Achter de Bruinkool after four years, RKEVV Laura settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Rimburgerweg. Also in 1931, RKVV Julia changes its name to become FCE (Football Club Eygelshoven), while moving away from Eygelshoven proper and settling on a new pitch, Terrein Groenstraat, in the nearby village of Ubach over Worms.
- 1932 / FCE reverts to its original name RKVV Julia. However, due to the club having moved to Ubach over Worms the previous year, it has ceased to be part of Eygelshoven's football history - with the team being absorbed into another club in Ubach soon after.
- 1933 / Three years after rival club RKEVV Laura, RKVV Hopel accedes to IVCB District South’s National Division 2 following a runners-up finish in the so-called Overgangsklasse, with an equal number of points as champions RKVV Sportclub, but with an inferior goal difference.
- 1935 / Clinching the title in IVCB Division 2 following a decisive 3-2 home win against RKVV Sportieve Ster, RKVV Hopel qualifies for the championship play-offs against RKVV Swalmen and RKVV Geleen. However, with the latter club gathering the highest number of points and the promotion ticket, RKVV Hopel is deprived of promotion to the top division of the IVCB pyramid. Also in 1935, moving away from Terrein Rimburgerweg after four years, RKEVV Laura settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Hoofdstraat in Eygelshoven's village centre. The pitch, owned by Mrs Claus, is situated at the back of the local boys' school, therefore being referred to locally as Terrein Achter de Jongensschool.
- 1936 / Clinching the title in IVCB Division 2 following a decisive 5-1 win over RKVV Sportclub (three goals by star striker Wiel Prevo), RKEVV Laura qualifies for the championship play-offs, in which the club meets RKVV Panningen, RKVV Hoensbroek, RKVV Caesar, and WVV (Maastricht). Following a 1-1 draw away at Hoensbroek, the club clinches first place and thus promotion to IVCB Division 1, the top level of the Roman Catholic football pyramid.
- 1937 / After the lion’s share of its membership leaving the club to join RKEVV Laura, RKVV Hopel folds following the 1936-37 season – only to be re-established with a new board and a new squad just in time for the 1937-38 season.
- 1938 / As RKVV Hopel suffers a relegation (possibly from IVCB Division 2 to RKLVB Overgangsklasse), the club is dissolved once and for all.
- 1939 / In its best performance of the pre-war years, RKEVV Laura finishes in third place in IVCB Division 1.
- 1940 / Following the occupation of the Netherlands 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, RKEVV Laura now joins the NVB, being placed in District South’s (Sunday) League 2 – in fact the second-highest division of the Netherlands’ football pyramid at the time.
- 1943 / In the best season in its history as an independent club, RKEVV Laura finishes as runners-up in District South’s Sunday League 2A, 4 points behind champions RKVV Waubachse Boys.
- 1945 / Re-establishment of a football club in Hopel, with the same name, RKVV Hopel, with Jan Haeren being elected as the new club’s first chairman at the foundation meeting in Café Mestriner at Laurastraat. The new club joins the Netherlands’ official football federation, renamed KNVB after the end of the occupation of the Netherlands, being placed in Division 1 of its Limburg sub-branch, Afdeling Limburg. The club settles on the pitch of pre-war RKHVV Hopel, the so-called Wei van Berns at Molenweg.
- 1946 / RKVV Hopel finishes as runners-up in Afdeling Limburg Division 1G, 1 point behind champions RKVV Chevremont II.
- 1947 / Finishing in joint first place in Afdeling Limburg Division 1 with RKSVB, RKVV Hopel meets the club from Ubachsberg in a tie-break match. However, with the match finishing in a 2-1 win for RKSVB, Hopel is deprived of the opportunity to win promotion to Sunday League 4.
- 1948 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Limburg Division 1 with coach Thei Hendriks, RKVV Hopel goes on to win the championship play-offs against SVM (7-3) and RKVV Limbricht (1-3). As such, the club accedes to KNVB District South II’s Sunday League 4 for the first time. As a consequence, the club has to look out for a new ground, as the pitch laid out on the farmland of Mr Berns does not meet the Netherlands’ FA’s requirements. While retaining this Wei van Berns for lower team football and training sessions, Hopel plays its first team football as groundsharers with RKEVV Laura and RKVV Miranda in the following two seasons.
- 1950 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 2A, RKEVV Laura goes on to be on the losing side in a relegation competition with RKVV Miranda, vv Nieuw Einde, and RKVV Waubach, resulting in the club having to descend into Sunday League 3. Also in 1950, RKVV Hopel settles at a new pitch, Speelveld aan de Molen, situated at the far end of Molenweg, adjacent to the railway line. The new pitch, on a plot of land partly owned by the Claus family, partly by Sjeng & Funs Jaminon, is blessed on October 15th by village priest Fr Stevens. Dressing rooms would be added to the set-up in one of the following years.
- 1952 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 3A, RKEVV Laura is retrograded into Sunday League 4, the same level as RKVV Hopel.
- 1953 / RKEVV Laura finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 3 points behind champions RKVV HELIOS ’23.
- 1954 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 8 points ahead of closest followers RKSV Bekkerveld, RKEVV Laura goes on to win the championship play-offs against RKVV Steenbergse Boys (7-5 aggr.), thus gaining promotion to Sunday League 3. Initially, after a 2-2 home draw, Laura had lost the away tie comprehensively (4-0), but the match was replayed after Steenbergse Boys had been found out to have fielded an uneligible player. In the replay, Laura came out on top 3-5 (two goals by Piet Hennen, one each by Henk Wijnberg, Huub Hanssen, and John Stouthart).
- 1955 / RKVV Hopel finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 3 points behind champions vv Spaubeek.
- 1956 / Eygelshoven's municipal authorities take the decision to lay out a new park for RKEVV Laura at Anselderbeemden, a plot of wasteland adjacent to the Bergbos.
- 1957 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, RKEVV Laura drops back into Sunday League 4.
- 1958 / RKEVV Laura finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 4 points behind champions RKSV Langeberg. Langeberg clinched the title in one of the last matches of the season, a 1-1 draw at Laura's ground.
- 1959 / RKEVV Laura crowns itself as champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 2 points ahead of closest rivals RKSNE. The decision falls on the last day of the season, with Laura managing an away defeat of RKVV Rimburg (0-4), while RKSNE succumbed to RKVV Amstenrade (0-1). In the championship play-offs, the club saw off RKVV IVS, RKSV Wit-Groen VC, and RKVV Berg, resulting in the club winning promotion to Sunday League 3. RKEVV Laura would go on to have a relatively stable decade at that level. Also in 1959, RKVV Hopel is constrained to groundshare temporarily with RKVV Miranda following its pitch, Speelveld aan de Molen, being waterlogged in the early stages of the season. Meanwhile, in Eygelshoven, works get underway on the projected Sportpark Anselderlaan, although the works would be troublesome due to the swampy surface in the area.
- 1961 / As the surface of RKVV Hopel's Sportveld aan de Molen is deemed unfit for use by KNVB authorities, the club has to start the 1961-62 season at RKVV Miranda, going on to play the majority of the season as groundsharers at RKTSV in Kerkrade-Terwinselen.
- 1962 / Moving away from its groundshare with RKTSV, RKVV Hopel temporily settles on the pitch of the former V&AV Juliana, Sportterrein aan de Heerlenersteenweg.
- 1963 / After two seasons of moving from one ground to the other, RKVV Hopel settles on a newly laid-out pitch of its own in Hopel proper, Terrein Strijthagen at Strijthagerweg. With the works being overseen by a local contractor, Hens Thelen, the new ground is inaugurated on September 1st, 1963.
- 1964 / RKVV Hopel finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 8 points behind champions SV Heerlen. That same year, RKEVV Laura moves away from its ground at the back of the local boys’ school, settling at Sportpark Anselderlaan, works on which had taken five full years. The new ground is inaugurated on September 13th, 1964, by Eygelshoven’s mayor, Hubert Boijens, with Fr Schulpen blessing the new premises subsequently. The club's first match on the pitch results in a 3-0 win against RKVV Miranda, with Toon Coolen being the first-ever goalscorer on the new location.
- 1965 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, RKVV Hopel drops back into Afdeling Limburg after seventeen seasons. The decisive defeat is incurred in a home match against RKVV Haanrade (2-4).
- 1968 / RKEVV Laura finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 3 points behind champions RKVV Miranda.
- 1969 / RKEVV Laura finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 7 points behind champions RKVV Vijlen. Also in 1969, the barracks used as dressing rooms at RKVV Hopel’s ground, Terrein Strijthagen, are consumed in a fire in the late evening of April 18th. Later that year, the club receives a message from Kerkrade's town council to the effect that it has to leave its premises forthwith, as they have to make way for new industries. The club temporarily moves in with RKEVV Laura at Sportpark Anselderlaan, with matches being played on the park's side-pitch, situated to the east of the main pitch. Plans are made for a new pitch for Hopel to the west of Laura's clubhouse, taken by an artificial fishing pond at that time.
- 1970 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 2 points ahead of runners-up EHC, RKEVV Laura accedes to Sunday League 2 after an absence of twenty years at that level. The decisive points are clinched in a 2-0 home win over RKVV Waubachse Boys. The successful coach is Paul Aretz. Also in 1970, the Laura coalpit in Eygelshoven closes its doors after 68 years. By this time, RKEVV Laura has moved away from its origins, with most of the membership consisting of government employees. RKVV Hopel, on the other hand, is still very much a working-class club.
- 1971 / After six seasons in the ranks of Afdeling Limburg, RKVV Hopel manages a return to Sunday League 4. The decisive points in Afdeling Limburg Division 1 are obtained in a clear-cut 6-0 home win against RKVV Huls. The successful coach is Jeu Heinen. Due to the side-pitch of Sportpark Anselderlaan being deemed unfit for play in the early stages of the 1971-72 season, RKVV Hopel plays its home matches at Stadion Kaldeborn in nearby Heerlen as groundsharers of Heerlen Sport for several weeks before being able to return to Eygelshoven.
- 1972 / Inauguration of a new, shared clubhouse for RKEVV Laura and RKVV Hopel at Sportpark Anselderlaan on September 8th, 1972, by Eygelshoven's mayor Johan Janssen. In the clubhouse, each club disposes of its own canteen.
- 1973 / Finishing in second-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 2A, RKEVV Laura drops back into Sunday League 3 along with bottom club KVC Oranje. That same year, RKVV Hopel moves from the training pitch on the eastern side of Laura's pitch at Anselderlaan to a new pitch laid out to the west of the clubhouse, following plans which had been drawn up four years previously. Also in 1973, RKEVV Laura raises the suggestion of a merger with RKVV Hopel, but, in part due to the proposal being leaked to local media, it is voted down unanimously by the membership of the latter club.
- 1974 / Runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 3 points behind champions SV Heerlen, RKEVV Laura manages an immediate return to Sunday League 2 due to extra promotion places being available following the introduction of a Zondag Hoofdklasse as the new top level of the Sunday non-league pyramid. The successful coach is Jo Gerards.
- 1975 / In the club’s best post-war performance, RKEVV Laura finishes in third place in District South II’s Sunday League 2A, 7 points behind champions RKSV Lindenheuvel.
- 1978 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 2A, RKEVV Laura descends into Sunday League 3 along with the club in second-last place RKSV Rapid. Meanwhile, down in Sunday League 4C, RKVV Hopel clinches the title, 2 points ahead of closest rivals RKSV Sylvia, thus winning promotion to Sunday League 3. The decisive point is obtained in a goalless draw at RKSV Sylvia. Also in 1978, former Laura player Theo van Well, who had moved to top non-leaguers RKVV Voerendaal the previous year, makes his debut as a professional league player with Fortuna SC at the age of nineteen. Van Well would go on to wear the colours of Fortuna SC and Fortuna Sittard for the following eight years.
- 1980 / RKVV Hopel is given the luxury of a training pitch, the so-called Waldaterrein, situated on the other side of the Anselderbeek, the stream on the southern side of Sportpark Anselderlaan, with a bridge being constructed, allowing players to reach the pitch on foot from the clubhouse.
- 1981 / Finishing in joint first place in District South II’s Sunday League 3B with RKVV Waubach, RKVV Hopel meets that club in a tie-break match, played at SVN’s Sportpark Heigank in Landgraaf-Nieuwenhagen. With the first encounter, attended by some 3,500 (!) spectators), finishing in a 1-1 draw (A.E.T.), RKVV Waubach has the edge in a second match on the same location (2-1), with RKVV Hopel thus missing out on promotion. Also in 1981, RKVV Hopel sheds the references to its Roman Catholic past, with the club name officially being changed to vv (Voetbalvereniging) Hopel.
- 1982 / vv Hopel narrowly misses out on promotion for the second year running, finishing as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 2 points behind champions RKBSV. That same year, Sportpark Anselderlaan is officially renamed Sportpark Eygelshoven – a name which never really caught on locally, with the ground generally being referred to as Sportpark Anselderlaan until the present day.
- 1985 / vv Hopel finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 3 points behind champions RKVV Miranda.
- 1986 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 5 points ahead of closest followers RKVV Vaesrade, vv Hopel wins promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first and only time in its history. The successful coach is Henk Verheezen. In fact, the decisive point to clinch the title was obtained in a 2-2 home draw against RKEVV Laura, which finishes bottom of the table in the same division, thus dropping back into Sunday League 4 along with the club in second-last place, vv Walram.
- 1987 / RKEVV Laura finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4C without suffering a single defeat all season, but still a handsome 7 points behind champions RKVV Weltania.
- 1988 / In the club’s best performance of all time, vv Hopel finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 2A, 6 points behind champions FC Vinkenslag.
- 1990 / Finishing in second-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 2A with coach Jo Kaesler, vv Hopel drops back into Sunday League 3 along with SV Heerlen and bottom club RKVV Voerendaal. The decisive defeat is incurred away at RKVV Obbicht (5-0). That same year, neighbour clubs RKEVV Laura and vv Hopel merge part of their youth academies under the name vv Eygelshoven – generally regarded as a first step towards the merger concluded nine years later.
- 1991 / Finishing in second-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 3B with coach Jo Kaesler, vv Hopel suffers its second relegation in a row, dropping back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club RKVV Heilust.
- 1992 / Finishing in tenth and twelfth (last) places in District South II’s Sunday League 4C respectively, RKEVV Laura and vv Hopel descend into Afdeling Limburg (Sunday) Division 1 simultaneously. While Hopel drops out directly, Laura's fate is sealed after a tie-break match against KVC Oranje, played at RKVV Chevremont's Sportpark De Kaffeberg, resulting in a 3-0 defeat.
- 1993 / Having dropped out of Sunday League 4 together the previous year, vv Hopel and RKEVV Laura manage to retrace their steps by both winning promotion from Afdeling Limburg Division 1 the following year – RKEVV Laura after winning a tie-break match for the title against RKHBS (4-3) at SVN’s Sportpark Heigank in Landgraaf-Nieuwenhagen, attended by some 2,000 spectators. Laura’s successful coach is Piet Hirsch. Hopel's success is achieved in the ensuing play-offs, in which the club successively knocks out the hapless RKHBS (1-2) and RKSV Kakertse Boys (1-0, decisive goal by Ron Heuts). For the 1993-94 season, vv Hopel's squad is reinforced with two former Fortuna Sittard players, Henk Duut and John Linford, but the two veterans do not help to achieve any remarkable success during their one-year spell in Eygelshoven.
- 1995 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 5 points ahead of runners-up vv Centrum Boys, vv Hopel wins promotion to Sunday League 3. The decisive points are obtained in a 7-2 home win against RKVV Mariarade.
- 1996 / Finishing in last place in District South II’s Sunday League 3B with coach Piet Giesen, vv Hopel drops back into Sunday League 4 after just one season, along with the club in second-last place, vv SVM. The relegation came as a surprise, given that the club's squad included former Roda JC professionals Michael van der Linden and Roger Raeven.
- 1997 / First tentative merger talks are held between the boards of RKEVV Laura and vv Hopel.
- 1999 / In their last season as independent clubs, vv Hopel and RKEVV Laura finish in seventh and ninth places in District South II’s Sunday League 4C respectively. Following the 1998-99 season, the neighbouring clubs merge together to form Laura Hopel Combinatie – often abbreviated colloquially as LHC. RKEVV Laura’s main pitch, to the east of the shared clubhouse, becomes the new club’s main pitch, with vv Hopel’s pitch remaining in use for lower team football and training sessions. Laura’s last chairman, former club player Rinus Prevo, becomes the first president of the new merger club, destined to stay on in that capacity for more than twenty more years. The first official league match of the newly founded LHC, a home encounter against KEV, ends in a 2-2 draw.
- 2000 / Inauguration of a completely new clubhouse at Sportpark Anselderlaan, with the premises being inaugurated by Kerkrade's mayor Thijs Wöltgens on April 14th, 2000. Subsequently, a gala match is held between LHC and Roda JC (0-11), attended by some 1,500 spectators.
- 2001 / Laura Hopel Combinatie finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 1 point behind champions vv KEV.
- 2002 / Runaway champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4C, 17 points ahead of RKVV Vaesrade, Laura Hopel Combinatie accedes to Sunday League 3. The decisive points are obtained in a 1-3 away win at RKDFC. The successful coach is Mick Vliegen.
- 2003 / Laura Hopel Combinatie finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, narrowly missing out on promotion, just 1 point behind champions PSV ’35. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club is knocked out in R1 by RKSV Leonidas-W (2-2 aggr. & penalty shoot-out).
- 2004 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 3B, 1 point ahead of runners-up RKSV Bekkerveld, Laura Hopel Combinatie wins promotion to Sunday League 2 with coach Mick Vliegen. The decisive points are clinched in a 5-0 home win over FC Hoensbroek. Following the 2003-04 season, Vliegen is succeeded by former Roda JC professional league defender Michel Broeders, who would coach LHC's first team for the following two years. Also in 2004, SVA Bleijerheide joins LHC at Sportpark Anselderlaan as groundsharers after being evicted from Sportcomplex Bleijerheide, which it had shared with KVC Oranje since 2001; SVA plays its first team football on the side-pitch of Sportpark Anselderlaan, i.e. the former main pitch of vv Hopel.
- 2005 / Joining the club from FC Germania 1910 Teveren, goalkeeper Sieb Dijkstra signs for Laura Hopel Combinatie. Dijkstra had had a colourful professional league career with spells at Roda JC, AZ, KSC Hasselt, Motherwell FC, Queens Park Rangers FC, Bristol City FC, Wycombe Wanderers FC, Dundee United FC, Ipswich Town FC, and RBC Roosendaal (1989-2001). Dijkstra would stay with LHC until 2008.
- 2006 / Finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 2G, Laura Hopel Combinatie has to save its skin in a set of promotion-relegation play-offs. Seeing off SC Susteren in R1 (3-1 aggr.), the club goes on to edge past RKVV Vaesrade in the final (3-3 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out) in the final, played at RKSV Groene Ster's Sportpark Pronsebroek.
- 2008 / The second pitch of Sportpark Anselderlaan, the former main pitch of vv Hopel between 1973 and 1999, is laid out anew with a synthetic surface.
- 2009 / Champions in Sunday League 2G, 3 points ahead of runners-up FC Hoensbroek, Laura Hopel Combinatie wins promotion for the first time in the history of the club as well as its two predecessors. The decisive points are obtained in a 2-1 home win over RKSV Langeberg. The successful coach is Ger Vroomen. In the summer of 2009, LHC is joined by striker Bas Jacobs, former professional league player at Roda JC, VVV, K Patro Maasmechelen, VVV-Venlo, and Fortuna Sittard (1999-2008).
- 2010 / In the best season in club history, Laura Hopel Combinatie finishes in ninth place in Sunday League 1D.
- 2011 / Finishing in twelfth place in Sunday League 1D, Laura Hopel Combinatie has to save its skin in a set of promotion-relegation play-offs – successfully doing so by edging past RKWSV Wilhelmina ’08 in R1 (3-1 aggr.) and RKVV SSS ’18 in R2 (5-5 aggr. & penalty shoot-out).
- 2012 / Coached by Henk Verheezen, Laura Hopel Combinatie finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 1D, resulting in the club descending into Sunday League 2 after three seasons, along with vv Schaesberg, NWC, and bottom club SVN.
- 2014 / Finishing in fourth place in Sunday League 2G, Laura Hopel Combinatie qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club sees off SVC 2000 in R1 (4-3 aggr.), only to be knocked out by RKVV Erp in the final (3-1 aggr.).
- 2018 / Finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 2G, Laura Hopel Combinatie has to stave off relegation in a set of promotion-relegation play-offs. Easing past vv Centrum Boys in R1 (0-6), the club suffers defeat at the hands of RKVV Heksenberg in R2 (1-2) – a result which would have condemned the club to relegation, were it not for the fact that extra places in League 2 are on offer, with LHC being one of the clubs to be saved thanks to these circumstances.
- 2019 / After fifteen years of groundsharing at Sportpark Anselderlaan, playing its first team football on the synthetic side-pitch of the park, SVA Bleijerheide leaves the ground, concluding a partnership agreement with RKVV Haanrade and moving to Sportpark Carisborg - with the two clubs eventually concluding a merger as Sporting HAC in 2021.
- 2020 / Former Roda JC and Roda JC Kerkrade player Ger Senden (19 seasons, 1989-2008), joins Laura Hopel Combinatie as head coach. Senden stays on in that capacity for nearly 1,5 seasons, ceding his place to Elmar Choinowski in November 2021.
- 2023 / Coached by Elmar Choinowksi, Laura Hopel Combinatie finishes second from bottom in Sunday League 2F, thus dropping back into Sunday League 3 along with bottom club Sporting Heerlen.
- 2024 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 3A with coach Elmar Choinowski, Laura Hopel Combinatie suffers back-to-back relegations, descending into Sunday League 4 along with Heksenberg-NEC, RKSV Leonidas-W, KVC Oranje, and SCG.
- 2025 / Finishing in fourth place in District South II’s Sunday League 4B, Laura Hopel Combinatie qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by vv Keer (1-0).
Note - Part of the information above has been derived from two books, kindly put at my disposal by Rinus Prevo, former chairman of RKEVV Laura and Laura Hopel Combinatie: Wim Berendsen, "Gedenkboek RKEVV Laura 1919-1994" (1994); and Wim Berendsen, "Voetbalglorie van een mijnwerkersdorp aan de Ansel. 90 jaar LHC 1919-2009" (2009).
All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author
