Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: SV Schalkhaar

Sportpark De Horsterhoek, Schalkhaar (SV Schalkhaar)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

11 X 2025 / SV Schalkhaar - SV Voorwaarts 4-1 / Sunday League 3L (= NL level 8)

Timeline

1945 / Foundation of a football club in Schalkhaar, a village just to the north of Deventer in the Province of Overijssel. The new club takes on the name Sportvereniging (SV) Schalkhaar, with the club joining Afdeling Gelderland, alternately referred to as Gelderse Voetbalbond (GVB), the Guelders sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (KNVB) – with clubs from the Deventer area of Overijssel also playing in this sub-federation. SV Schalkhaar starts its existence as a competitive club in Afdeling Gelderland Sunday Division 2. The club settles on a pitch laid out at Hagenvoorderdijk.
1946 / Moving away from Terrein Hagenvoorderdijk after just one season, SV Schalkhaar settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Spanjaardsdijk.
1948 / Moving away from Terrein Spanjaardsdijk after two years, SV Schalkhaar settles on a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein ‘t Mensink.
1948 or 1949 / SV Schalkhaar wins promotion from Afdeling Gelderland Sunday Division 2 to Division 1 of the same league system. The club would play a part in the higher reaches of Afdeling Gelderland in the next thirty odd years.
1951 / Moving away from Terrein ‘t Mensink after three seasons, SV Schalkhaar settles on a newly laid-out pitch at the back of the local primary school at Spanjaardsdijk.
1964 / Moving away from Terrein Achter de School at Spanjaardsdijk after thirteen years, SV Schalkhaar settles on a newly laid-out pitch at the back of the police office – and next to the then ground of Deventer club SV Helios.
1968 / Having played at five other locations in the previous 23 years, SV Schalkhaar now moves into the newly laid-out Sportpark De Wijtenhorst.
1972 / SV Schalkhaar’s new clubhouse at Sportpark De Wijtenhorst is inaugurated.
1976 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Gelderland Zondag Hoofdklasse, 6 points ahead of closest followers vv VIOD, SV Schalkhaar accedes to KNVB District East’s Sunday League 4 for the first time.
1979 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4H, 7 points ahead of runners-up USV Nieuwleusen, SV Schalkhaar wins promotion to Sunday League 3 for the first time. Also in 1979, the clubhouse at Sportpark De Wijtenhorst is extended, with the new construction being inaugurated in the presence of Diepenveen’s mayor, Mr. Samuel Crommelin.
1981 / SV Schalkhaar finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 2 points behind champions ZVV AZC.
1982 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 6 points ahead of closest followers ABS and vv Daventria, SV Schalkhaar accedes to Sunday League 2 for the first time.
1986 / SV Schalkhaar narrowly misses out on the title in District East’s Sunday League 2B, finishing 1 point behind WVC.
1988 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 2B, SV Schalkhaar drops back into Sunday League 3 after six seasons, along with bottom club AV&CV Robur et Velocitas.
1989 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 5 points ahead of closest rivals SV Colmschate ’33, SV Schalkhaar wins promotion to Sunday League 2.
1995 / As SV Schalkhaar celebrates its fiftieth anniversary with a gala match at Sportpark De Wijtenhorst against professional league side Go Ahead Eagles, the clubhouse at the park is extended following a design by architect Jan Daggenvoorde.
1999 / Finishing in third-last place in Sunday League 2J, SV Schalkhaar drops back into Sunday League 3 along with SV Epe and bottom club vv Lemelerveld.
2000 / SV Schalkhaar finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 2 points behind champions SC Klarenbeek.
2001 / Finishing in joint first position in District East’s Sunday League 3B with vv Heino, SV Schalkhaar meets the club from Heino in a tie-break match, played at SV Heeten’s Terrein Dorpsstraat – and going on to win the encounter in the most dramatic of fashions (4-3 win after trailing 1-3). As such, SV Schalkhaar manages to retrace its steps to Sunday League 2 after two years. The successful coach is Henk Heijink.
2002 / Champions in Sunday League 2J, 2 points ahead of closest rivals HVV Tubantia, SV Schalkhaar manages a historic promotion to Sunday League 1. The successful coach is Chris Jansen.
2003 / Coached by Chris Jansen, SV Schalkhaar finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 1E, thus dropping back into Sunday League 2 after just one season, along with the club in second-last place, MVV Alcides.
2006 / Coached by Arjen Bredewolt, SV Schalkhaar finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 2J, thus descending into Sunday League 3, along with the club in second-last place, RDC.
2007 / Moving away from Sportpark De Wijtenhorst after 39 years, SV Schalkhaar settles at the newly laid-out Sportpark De Horsterhoek, which is inaugurated by the Netherlands’ Minister of Health, Welfare, and Sport, Dr. Ab Klink. The main pitch of the park, adorned with a covered stand and ‘panoramic’ canteen, has been laid out with a synthetic surface.
2008 / Coached by Arjen Bredewolt, SV Schalkhaar finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, thus dropping back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club SV Eerbeekse Boys. It marks the return of SV Schalkhaar at this lowly level after a gap of 29 years.
2009 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4H, 9 points ahead of runners-up SV Heeten, SV Schalkhaar manages an immediate return to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Jacob Ensing.
2010 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 8 points behind champions AVV Columbia, SV Schalkhaar wins direct promotion to Sunday League 2 due to extra promotion places being available following the introduction of a Zondag Topklasse as the new top tier of the Sunday pyramid. The successful coach is Jacob Ensing.
2011 / Finishing in third-last place in Sunday League 2J with coach Jacob Ensing, SV Schalkhaar has to play a promotion-relegation play-off against vv Heerde to stave off relegation – but, losing the tie 4-2 (aggr.), the club drops back into Sunday League 3 after one season only, along with vv DOS ’19, Koninklijke DC&FC UD, and bottom club vv Twenthe.
2013 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, SV Schalkhaar qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out BVV Borne in R1 (6-3 aggr.), going on to defeat WVC in the final (7-5 aggr.). As such, the club wins promotion to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is Hans van der Hoog.
2016 / Finishing in fifth place in Sunday League 2J, SV Schalkhaar qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out RKVV Rood Wit in R1 (7-3 aggr.), only to be pegged back by SV BVC ’12 in the final (3-2 aggr.).
2017 / Finishing in joint first place in Sunday League 2J with AVC Luctor et Emergo, SV Schalkhaar meets the club from Almelo in a tie-break match for the title, played at SV Excelsior ‘31’s Sportpark De Koerbelt in Rijssen. Going on to win that encounter (3-2), SV Schalkhaar wins promotion to Sunday League 1 for the second time in club history. The successful coach is Marc Lobbert.
2018 / Finishing in second-last place in Sunday League 1E with coach Marcel Geestman, SV Schalkhaar drops back into Sunday League 2 after just one season, along with bottom club Quick 1888.
2024 / Finishing in ninth place in Sunday League 2G, SV Schalkhaar has to stave off relegation in the promotion-relegation play-offs. Drawing a bye in R1, the club goes on to suffer defeat (1-2) at the hands of vv Jonge Kracht in R2. As such, the team of coach Martijn de Haas suffers relegation to Sunday League 3, along with SV DCS, vv Vorden, DIO ’30, and bottom club AVV Columbia.
2025 / Runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 3I, with an equal number of points as champions SV OBW, but with an inferior goal difference (+34 vs. +30), SV Schalkhaar has to settle for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club draws a bye in R1, only to be knocked out in R2 by SV DCS (1-2).

Note – Thanks to SV Schalkhaar chairman Hans Sanders for providing essential parts of information for the article above. Some other parts of information have been derived from the publication ‘Naar de overkant. Een kleurrijke beschrijving van de periode 1995-2007’, by Rudy Brouwer, Michel Hulman, and Harry Schrijver (ed. SV Schalkhaar: Schalkhaar 2007).