Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: RKDSO

Sportpark 't Wiltlandt, Lomm (RKDSO)

Netherlands, province: Limburg

11 XII 2025 / RKDSO - SV Vitesse '08 0-2 / District South II, Sunday League 5F (= NL level 10)

Timeline

1933 / Foundation of a football club in Lomm, a village not far from Venlo in Limburg. The new club is given the name Lommsche Voetbalclub, abbreviated as LVC. The local headmaster, Mr Linssen, is chosen as the club’s first chairman. Not taking part in any competition as yet, LVC settles on a pitch laid out on the land of a local smallholder, Mr Verbeek, at Vosberg, to the southeast of the village centre.
1934 / One year after its foundation, LVC joins the Roomsch-Katholieke Limburgsche Voetbalbond (RKLVB), the Limburg sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Roman Catholic Football Federation (RKF). For the 1934-35 season, the club is placed in RKLVB Division 3.
1935 / LVC wins automatic promotion to RKLVB Division 2 due to the club entering a reserves’ team in Division 3 of the said league system. Also in 1935, moving away from Terrein Verbeek, LVC settles on a newly laid-out pitch situated slightly further to the east (modern-day Spikweien, Lomm Industrial Estate).
1936 / Clinching the title in RKLVB Division 2 following a 3-3 draw away at RKSV Brughusia, LVC wins promotion to Division 1 of the said league pyramid.
1938 / LVC finishes as runners-up in RLVB Division 1, thereby just missing out on promotion to the nationwide RKF (IVCB) divisions. This performance marks the highlight in the club’s pre-war history.
1940 / Having spent the first years of its existence in the ranks of the RKLVB (RKF), LVC is now constrained to make the step to the official Netherlands’ FA (KNVB, renamed NVB following the German oppression of the Netherlands in May 1940, with the royal epithet ‘koninklijk’ being withdrawn for obvious reasons) as all other football associations cease their activities permanently in the face of German pressure. Doing away with its old name LVC and taking on the new name ‘Lomm’ (vv Lomm or, more probably, RKVV Lomm) to avoid confusion with older (K)NVB member clubs using the same abbreviation, the club from Lomm is now placed in Afdeling Limburg (Sunday) Division 1, the top tier of the Limburg sub-branch of the Netherlands’ FA – one step below District South (II)’s Sunday League 4.
1945 / vv Lomm or RKVV Lomm changes its name to become RKDSO, i.e. Rooms-Katholieke ‘Door Samenwerken Overwinnen’ (literally translated in English: Victory Through Teamwork).
1947 / RKDSO finishes as runners-up in Afdeling Limburg Division 1.
1948 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Limburg Division 1, RKDSO goes on to win the promotion play-offs against VCH and RKVV Baarlo, thus acceding to Sunday League 4 for the first time, along with the club from Boekend. The decisive points are clinched in a 4-0 away win in Baarlo.
1951 / Moving away from Terrein Spikweien, RKDSO settles on a newly laid-out pitch, situated next to a local pub, Hotel-Café Pingen, at Rijksstraatweg.
1961 / 18-year-old RKDSO midfielder Theo Appeldoorn is signed by Eredivisie side SC VVV '04 from Venlo.
1962 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 4G, RKDSO drops back into the ranks of Afdeling Limburg after fourteen years.
1963 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Limburg Division 1, RKDSO manages an immediate return to Sunday League 4.
1964 / After three seasons at SC VVV '04 (18 first-team matches), Theo Appeldoorn withdraws into non-league with at IVO in Velden.
1965 / Moving away from Terrein Pingen after fourteen years, RKDSO settles on a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein ‘t Brook, to the north of the village.
1967 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 4H, RKDSO drops back into Afdeling Limburg Division 1 after four years. Also in 1967, following three years at IVO, Theo Appeldoorn returns to his mother club RKDSO, defending the blue-and-white colours for two more years, eventually hanging up his boots in 1969.
1970 / As Terrein ‘t Brook suffers from a bad playing surface, resulting matches being called off regularly, plans are made to move to a new ground. Works on the projected Sportpark ‘t Wildlandt get underway at Bosbergstraat in 1970.
1973 / After three years of works, Sportpark ‘t Wildlandt at Bosbergstraat is inaugurated on July 29th, 1973. Terrein ‘t Brook is abandoned.
1978 / Clinching the title in Afdeling Limburg Division 1 with coach Sef Siero, RKDSO manages a return to Sunday League 4 after eleven seasons.
1979 / Sportpark ‘t Wildlandt is augmented, as a second pitch is laid out, mainly used for training sessions.
1980 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 4G, RKDSO descends into Afdeling Limburg Division 1.
1982 / A clubhouse is inaugurated at Sportpark ‘t Wildlandt, with the inaugural ceremony being performed by Mr P.L.J. Willems, chairman of KNVB Afdeling Limburg, on August 6th, 1982.
1985 / Obtaining the title in Afdeling Limburg Division 1 following a decisive 3-0 win against SV Merselo, RKDSO wins promotion to Sunday League 4. The successful coach is Geert Driessen.
1992 / Finishing in second-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 4H, RKDSO drops back into Afdeling Limburg Division 1 along with bottom club SV Oostrum.
1993 / Finishing in joint first place in Afdeling Limburg Division 1 with RK BVV ’27, RKDSO goes on to suffer a 2-1 defeat against the club from Blitterswijck in a tie-break match, played at a neutral venue, SVEB’s Sportpark ‘t Venneke in Broekhuizenvorst (att. 800). In the subsequent round of promotion play-offs against SV Oostrum and vv RESIA '42, RKDSO has to leave the honours to the club from Wellerlooi, thus missing out on promotion altogether.
1994 / Cruising to the title in Afdeling Limburg Division 1H without suffering a single defeat all season, RKDSO manages a return to Sunday League 4 after an absence of two years.
1995 / RKDSO finishes as runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4H, 9 points behind champions RKOSV Achates.
1997 / RKDSO merges its youth academy with RKDEV (modern-day DEV-Arcen), an arrangement which has persisted until the present day.
1999 / Runners-up in District South II’s Sunday League 4H, 1 point behind champions RKOSV Achates, RKDSO goes on to win a historic promotion to Sunday League 3 in the subsequent play-off round. The successful coach is Huub Verheijden.
2000 / Coached by Bram Hoogveld, RKDSO finishes in second-last place in District South II’s Sunday League 3D, thus dropping back into Sunday League 4 after just one season, along with bottom club KVC.
2004 / Coached by Tom Kochanowski, RKDSO finishes bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 4F, thus descending into Sunday League 5 along with the club in second-last place, vv Belfeldia. Following the 2003-04 season, RKDSO merges its flagship team to be absorbed by neighbour club RKDEV, allowing its second team to officially become RKDSO 1 in District South II’s Sunday Reserves’ League 6.
2005 / Rescinding the partnership deal with RKDEV, RKDSO sees its former first team players return to Lomm; however, no first team is entered into the regular leagues for the 2005-06 season, as the club prefers to compete only with lower teams.
2006 / RKDSO makes a new start as a competitive club with a regular first team in Sunday League 6.
2013 / Finishing in fifth place in District South II’s Sunday League 6D, RKDSO wins automatic promotion to Sunday League 5 as one of the period champions (i.e. winners in a virtual table of a quarter of the season) of its division. The successful coaching duo consists of John Houben & Rob Simons.
2014 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 5F with coaches John Houben & Rob Simons, RKDSO is retrograded into Sunday League 6 after just one season, along with the club in second-last place, SV Merselo.
2015 / Finishing in sixth place in District South II’s Sunday League 6C, RKDSO wins automatic promotion to Sunday League 5 due to League 6 being abolished.
2021 / RKDSO’s only-ever player to have made it to the professional leagues, Theo Appeldoorn, passes away at the age of 77.
2023 / In a disastrous 2022-23 campaign, RKDSO finishes bottom of the table in District South II’s Sunday League 5D with only 7 points (1 win, 4 draws).