Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: vv Gilze (2011-)

Sunday, 7 December 2025

NETHERLANDS: vv Gilze (2011-)

Sportpark Verhoven, Gilze (vv Gilze)

Netherlands, province: North Brabant = Noord-Brabant

7 XII 2025 / vv Gilze - vv De Bataven 2-2 / Combined Sunday & Saturday League 1D (= NL level 6)

Timeline

± 1919 / A group of friends from Gilze, a village in North Brabant halfway between Breda and Tilburg, gets together to form a football team, which they give the name Gilsche Voetbalclub, abbreviated as GVC. They find a plot of land to lay out a pitch, Terrein Boskant. Sticking to playing friendly matches against other recreational teams for the moment, GVC does not join any league association.
1920 / GVC changes its name to become AVM, standing for Altijd Vol Moed (‘Always Full Of Courage’)
1925 / AVM takes on a new name, Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging (RKVV) Gilze.
1932 / Moving away from Terrein Boskant, RKVV Gilze settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Lange Wagenstraat – destined to stay at that location for the following 79 years.
1957 / RKVV Gilze changes its name to become Sportvereniging (SV) Gilze in preparation of branches for other sports being incorporated in the womb of the club.
1991 / The football branch of SV Gilze breaks away from the omnisport club, continuing its existence as Voetbalvereniging (vv) Gilze.
2011 / 79 years after the ground’s inauguration, Sportpark aan de Lange Wagenstraat is abandoned in the summer of 2011, as vv Gilze settles at the newly laid-out Sportpark Verhoven, to the west of the village – although the new park has not been completed yet. In the following years, the old park has to make way for housing.
2012 / Finishing in fifth place in District South I’s Sunday League 3B, vv Gilze qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Knocking out vv Internos in R1 (4-4 aggr. & away goals), the club goes on to suffer defeat in the final at the hands of RSC Alliance (4-2 aggr.), thus missing out on an unprecedented promotion to Sunday League 2. Also in 2012, on September 18th, more than a year after vv Gilze moved into the new park, Sportpark Verhoven is officially inaugurated by Gilze-Rijen’s caretaker mayor Osterloh.
2014 / Finishing in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 3B with coach Emiel Heefer, vv Gilze drops back into Sunday League 4 along with RKSV RCD, vv SSW, and bottom club BSV Boeimeer.
2015 / Runaway champions in District South I’s Sunday League 4D, 20 (!) points ahead of closest followers VVR, vv Gilze manages an immediate return to Sunday League 3. The successful coach is Emiel Heefer.
2019 / Finishing in third place in District South I’s Sunday League 3B, vv Gilze qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by vv Zundert (3-2).
2020 / Finding itself in second place in District South I’s Sunday League 3B after 15 of 24 matches played, 2 points behind leaders vv Bavel, vv Gilze narrowly misses out on promotion to Sunday League 2 in the 2019-20 season, cut short by the first COVID lockdown in March 2020.
2022 / Runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 3B, 1 point behind champions vv Trinitas Oisterwijk, vv Gilze qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club qualifies for the final following successive defeats of vv Steen in R1 (7-1) and vv Bavel in R2 (4-1). In the final, the club has the better of RKSV Groen-Wit (3-1), thus achieving a historic promotion to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is Jeremy Buchly. In the summer of 2022, former professional league player Joep van den Ouweland takes over the role of head coach at vv Gilze, staying on in that capacity for the following two seasons.
2023 / Finishing in third place in its first season in Sunday League 2D, vv Gilze qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by vv Geldrop (1-0).
2025 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2C, 11 points behind champions vv Bladella, vv Gilze qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out SV Parkhout in R1 (4-3) and vv TSC in R2 (0-3) to reach the final. In an encounter played at Sportpark Almkerk (Sportlaan), the club edges past vv NIVO Sparta (4-3 A.E.T.), thus achieving an unprecedented promotion to Combined Sunday & Saturday League 1. The successful coach is Jurgen Arnouts.