Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: vv Storica (1977-2011) / vv Dieze West (±1985-2012) / HFC Storica (2011-2025) / vv Dieze West (B) (2012-) / FC Ulu Spor (B) (2012-) / vv WVF (B) (2023-)

Sportpark Het Hoge Laar terr. 1, Zwolle (B ground of vv Dieze West, FC Ulu Spor & vv WVF, formerly vv Storica / A pitch of vv Dieze West / HFC Storica)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

29 XI 2025 / vv WVF 6 - vv Berkum 8 5-4 / District East, Saturday Reserves' League 5 - Group 01

Timeline

1949 / Foundation of a football club in Zwolle, formed as the corporate team of Stork NV, a local engine factory. The club is given the name vv Storica. Joining the Zwolle sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (KNVB), Afdeling Zwolle – usually referred to by its pre-war name Zwolse Voetbalbond, ZVB – vv Storica is placed in the bottom division of the ZVB Saturday pyramid. In the first thirty odd years of its existence, the club played its football as groundsharers at various other clubs in Zwolle.
1955 / vv Storica clinches its first title in the ranks of the ZVB, in a club history which has been poorly documented. Further ZVB titles would follow in 1958, 1974, 1978, 1980, and 1991, with the club never reaching the level of District East’s Saturday League 4 prior to 1996.
1977 / Having lead a wanderer’s existence in the first 28 years of its existence, vv Storica now settles at a newly laid out ground, Sportpark Het Hoge Laar, of which the three southeasternmost pitches are put at the disposal of vv Storica, with CSV ’28 settling at the northwestern half of the park.
1978 / vv Storica breaks away from Stork NV Motorenfabriek, becoming an independent entity and thus ceasing to be a corporate club.
1979 / vv Storica’s clubhouse at Sportpark Het Hoge Laar is inaugurated.
1982 / A new club is founded in Zwolle, vv Dieze West, which joins the ZVB Sunday divisions. For the time being, not disposing of a ground of its own, vv Dieze West plays its football at Terrein Urbana at Wipstrikkerallee, a communal pitch put at the disposal of the club by Zwolle’s municipal authorities. Training sessions are held on a smaller pitch at a local playground, Speeltuin ‘t Noorden at Albert Cuypstraat.
± 1985 / Moving away from Terrein Urbana, vv Dieze West moves into Sportpark Het Hoge Laar, groundsharing with vv Storica. The two clubs’ first teams share the main pitch – a comfortable arrangement, given that vv Storica plays its football on Saturdays at vv Dieze West on Sundays.
1996 / As Afdeling Zwolle (ZVB) and all other KNVB sub-branches are abolished in a thorough reorganisation of the football pyramid, vv Storica is allowd into District East’s Saturday League 4 for the first time in club history, while vv Dieze West is transferred from ZVB Sunday Division 2 to the newly created District East’s Sunday League 6.
1998 / vv Storica finishes in joint second place in District East’s Saturday League 4D with DSV ’61, 6 points behind champions vv SVI.
2001 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 6B, vv Dieze West goes on to have a successful round of promotion play-offs, thus acceding to Sunday League 5 for the first time.
2002 / vv Dieze West signs Martin Reynders as its head coach. Reynders had just ended his career as a professional league midfielder (1989-2002) with successive spells at PEC Zwolle ’82, FC Zwolle, Nashville Metros, FC Jokerit, FC Haka Valkeakoski, and BV Veendam. Staying at vv Dieze West for two seasons, Reynders would sign a deal as a youth academy coach with FC Zwolle in 2004, going on to play four more matches as an emergency first team player with the professional league side (2006-09).
± 2005 / Having been allowed to use vv Storica’s clubhouse in the past twenty odd years, vv Dieze West is now allowed to move into a new clubhouse, taken over from netball club Sparta Zwolle, situated at the westernmost edge of Sportpark Het Hoge Laar – adjacent to the smaller clubhouse of motor club Big V. Although the construction is closer to Pitch 3 of Sportpark Het Hoge Laar (Zuid), vv Dieze West’s first team football continues to be played on Pitch 1 of the park.
2006 / Runaway champions in District East’s Sunday League 5H, 10 points ahead of closest followers vv Reaal Dronten, vv Dieze West accedes to Sunday League 4 for the first time. The successful coach is Jan de Vries.
2007 / Having had a disastrous run in District East’s Saturday League 4D in the 2006-07 season, only obtaining 3 points from 20 matches (goal difference -87), vv Storica withdraws from first team football for the time being. Meanwhile, neighbour club CSV ’28 leaves Sportpark Het Hoge Laar (Noord) to settle at the newly laid-out Sportpark De Verbinding, elsewhere in Zwolle, as the northern part of Het Hoge Laar is due to make way for hockey pitches for HC Zwolle. For the time being, CSV ‘28’s groundsharers FC Ulu Spor remain behind at that part of the park.
2010 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4H, 7 points ahead of closest rivals SV Colmschate ’33, vv Dieze West accedes to Sunday League 3 for the first time. The successful coach is Nardus de Vries.
2011 / After a twilight existence of four years, vv Storica takes on the amended name Holtenbroeker Football Club (HFC) Storica) and returning to regular football with a first team in Saturday League 4.
2012 / Finishing in fourth place in District East’s Saturday League 4C, HFC Storica qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out CVV Achilles (E) in R1 (6-1 aggr.), only to be eliminated in the final by WVV Wageningen (7-4 aggr.) and thus missing out on promotion. That same year, vv Dieze West clinches a new title, finishing top of the table in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 6 points ahead of runners-up AV&CV Robur et Velocitas 1882, thus gaining promotion to Sunday League 2 for the first time. The successful coach is Marco Onderberg. Meanwhile, in the summer of 2012, Pitch 3 of Sportpark Het Hoge Laar is laid out anew with a synthetic surface. While HFC Storica stays on Pitch 1, vv Dieze West as well as FC Ulu Spor move their first team football to the 3G facility. FC Ulu Spor rebuilds its (wooden) clubhouse alongside the western touchline of the new pitch. For the further history of vv Dieze West (and FC Ulu Spor), check the article dedicated to Pitch (veld) 3 of Sportpark Het Hoge Laar.
2013 / Champions in District East’s Saturday League 4C, 4 points ahead of closest rivals SCD ’83, HFC Storica wins promotion to Saturday League 3 for the first time in club history. The successful coach is Chris Sorries.
2014 / HFC Storica records the best result in club history, finishing in ninth place in District East’s Saturday League 3C – going on to replicate that exact result in the 2014-15 season.
2016 / Coached by Jeroen Kloekke, HFC Storica finishes bottom of the table in District East’s Saturday League 3C, thus dropping back into Saturday League 4 after three seasons, along with vv Bruchterveld and SV VHK.
2017 / HFC Storica finishes bottom of the table in District East’s Saturday League 4C with only 5 points from 26 matches (goal difference -151) – and with the only win being recorded at Sportpark Het Hoge Laar against VSW in the last match of the season (3-1).
2018 / Having obtained not a single point in the 2017-18 season in District East’s Saturday League 4C (goal difference -169) – and with a disastrous 1-16 home defeat at the hands of VSW in the last encounter of the season – HFC Storica withdraws from first team football, with the remaining first team players continuing to play their matches in the “reserves’ team” in Reserves’ Saturday League 5. As the preceding years had seen a rather dramatic decrease in club membership, HFC Storica contacts neighbour club FC Ulu Spor for merger talks to form the prospective FC Het Hoge Laar, in an attempt to avoid the demise of the club.
2020 / After two years of fruitless talks, the merger process between HFC Storica and FC Ulu Spor is discontinued.
2023 / With not enough players available to form a team, HFC Storica remains inactive during the 2023-24 season. Also in 2023, a club in Zwolle with a booming membership and not enough pitches to allow all of its teams to play their home matches, vv WVF, is allowed to move part of its Saturday matches to Sportpark Het Hoge Laar, making use of all three pitches of the park.
2024 / HFC Storica manages to assemble enough players to return with a team in Reserves’ Saturday League 5.
2025 / After one year, HFC Storica withdraws its team from Reserves’ League 5. With the club entering into a twilight existence once again, the only activity developed in the 2025-26 season are Friday evening matches with a recreational 7 vs. 7 team of veteran players.