Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: RKVV Heeswijk

Sportpark De Balledonk, Heeswijk-Dinther Heeswijk (RKVV Heeswijk)

Netherlands, province: North Brabant = Noord-Brabant

25 I 2026 / RKVV Heeswijk - vv DSC 1-2 / Sunday League 3F (= NL level 8)

Timeline

1951 / Foundation of a football club in Heeswijk, a village in the northeastern part of the Province of North Brabant, with the club taking on the name RKVV (Rooms-Katholieke Voetbalvereniging) Heeswijk – although it should be pointed out that the prefix RKVV (never dropped officially) has been used very rarely since the mid-1960s, with the club being referred to universally as vv Heeswijk. Originally, RKVV Heeswijk is a breakaway club of the older RKSV Avesteyn from Heeswijk's twin-village Dinther. With a pitch being laid out at Veldstraat, RKVV Heeswijk starts its life as a competitive club in the lowest Sunday division of Afdeling Noord-Brabant, the KNVB sub-branch in North Brabant organising league football below the level of District South I’s Sunday League 4.
1963 / Gaining promotion from Afdeling Noord-Brabant Sunday Division 1, RKVV Heeswijk accedes to Sunday League 4 for the first time.
1968 / Moving away from Terrein Veldstraat, RKVV Heeswijk settles at the newly laid-out Sportpark De Balledonk. The first stone for the clubhouse is laid by Fr Van de Ven of the local Berne Priory.
1971 / 20-year-old Heeswijk midfielder Peter van der Leij signs a professional league contract with FC Den Bosch ’67. Van der Leij goes on to have subsequent spells at WVV Wageningen and FC Wageningen, bowing out into non-league with RKVV Heeswijk in 1986.
1981 / Following a renovation of Sportpark De Balledonk, the entrance of the park is moved to the eastern end of the ground, at Droevendaal.
1988 / After an uninterrupted spell of 25 years of League 4 football, RKVV Heeswijk now finishes in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 4B, thus dropping back into the ranks of Afdeling Noord-Brabant along with bottom club RVV.
1990 / After an absence of two years, RKVV Heeswijk manages a return to Sunday League 4. The decisive points are clinched in a 1-0 win over SV Audacia.
1992 / A covered stand is inaugurated at Sportpark De Balledonk on October 3rd, 1992.
1996 / Finishing in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 4B, RKVV Heeswijk suffers relegation to the newly created Sunday League 5 along with bottom club vv BZS. Also in 1996, former Heeswijk youth academy defender Theo Lucius, who had moved to SC BVV earlier on, makes his professional league debut at the age of nineteen with FC Den Bosch. In subsequent years, Lucius goes on to have spells at PSV, FC Utrecht, Feyenoord Rotterdam, FC Groningen, FC Eindhoven, and RKC Waalwijk, bowing out into non-league with SV Kozakken Boys in 2013. After a spell at vv Sliedrecht, Lucius would enjoy his last season as a recreative footballer with RKVV Heeswijk (2015-16). Lucius also won 5 caps for the Netherlands in 2005 under the aegis of trainer Marco van Basten.
1997 or 1998 / Either in 1997 or 1998, RKVV Heeswijk suffers the ignominy of descending into Sunday League 6, the bottom division of the football pyramid.
1998 / Former Heeswijk youth academy striker Ron Heesakkers makes his professional league debut at RKC Waalwijk. Heesakkers goes on to have subsequent spells at TOP Oss and Helmond Sport, bowing out into non-league at RKVV Heeswijk in 2003.
1999 / Runner-up in District South I’s Sunday League 6G, 4 points behind champions RKSV Ulysses, RKVV Heeswijk wins promotion to Sunday League 5 via the ensuing round of promotion play-offs.
2000 / Finishing bottom of the table in District South I’s Sunday League 5E with coach Jack Timmermans, RKVV Heeswijk drops back into Sunday League 6 after just one season, accompanied by the club in second-last place, vv Essche Boys.
2001 / Champions in District South I’s Sunday League 6H, 5 points ahead of closest followers RKGSV, RKVV Heeswijk manages an immediate return to Sunday League 5. The successful coach is Wil Janssen.
2002 / Coached by Wil Janssen, RKVV Heeswijk finishes in joint first place in District South II’s Sunday League 5G with vv Boekel Sport; subsequently, a tie-break match for the title must have been held between the two clubs, of which the result is unknown – what is clear, though, is that both clubs won promotion to Sunday League 4, one as champions, the other as play-off winners. For RKVV Heeswijk, this constitutes the second promotion in a row.
2005 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 4H, 4 points ahead of closest rivals RKSV Volkel, RKVV Heeswijk accedes to Sunday League 3 for the first time in club history. The successful coach is Theo van Lieshout.
2008 / Former Heeswijk youth academy defender Freek Heerkens makes his professional league debut with Jong PSV at the age of nineteen. In the following years, Heerkens goes on to have spells at Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II, hanging up his boots in the summer of 2024.
2009 / RKVV Heeswijk finishes as runner-up in District South II’s Sunday League 3D, 3 points behind champions RKVV Nulandia.
2011 / Champions in District South II’s Sunday League 3D, 2 points ahead of closest followers RKSV Prinses Irene, RKVV Heeswijk achieves a historic promotion to Sunday League 2. The successful coach is Ton Berens.
2012 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2H, RKVV Heeswijk qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club cruises past NWC in R1 (7-0 aggr.), only to be pegged back in the final by vv Caesar in R2 (3-2 aggr.).
2013 / Former Heeswijk youth academy defender Ayrton Statie, born in Kralendijk (Bonaire, Netherlands’ Antilles) makes his professional league debut with FC Den Bosch at the age of nineteen. In subsequent years, Statie goes on to have spells at FC Eindhoven, FC Oss, Səbail FK, FC Lienden, Reno 1868, SV Kozakken Boys, SV CHC, and vv Achilles Veen. Moreover, he won 12 caps for Curaçao, being part of that country’s squad in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
2015 / Runner-up in Sunday League 2F, 5 points behind champions WVV WSC, RKVV Heeswijk qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by vv DESK (8-2 aggr.).
2016 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 2H, RKVV Heeswijk qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is unsuccessful yet again, bowing out in R1 against Laura Hopel Combinatie (3-2 aggr.).
2020 / Former Heeswijk youth academy goalkeeper Robin Roefs makes his professional league debut with NEC at the age of 17. In 2025, Roefs left the club from Nijmegen to sign a deal with Sunderland AFC in the English Premier League.
2023 / Finishing in tenth place in Sunday League 2G, RKVV Heeswijk staves off relegation thanks to successive wins over vv Scharn (2-4) and RKSV Merefeldia (2-1) in the promotion-relegation play-offs.
2024 / Finishing in eleventh place in Sunday League 2E with coach Mark Strik, RKVV Heeswijk has to avoid relegation in a round of promotion-relegation play-offs for the second year running. Drawing a bye in R1, Heeswijk goes on to knock out RKSV Heer (3-0) and HVV Helmond (2-1) in the following two rounds, only to suffer defeat against vv Bruheze (3-0) in the final, played at vv DVG’s Sportpark De Roode Bleek in Liempde. As such, the club descends into Sunday League 3 after thirteen years, accompanied by vv Berghem Sport, RKSV Prinses Irene, and direct drop-outs RKSV Eendracht ’30 and RKVV SSS ’18. Also in 2024, RKVV Heeswijk merges its youth academy with village rivals RKSV Avesteyn under the name SJO (Samenwerking Jeugdopleidingen) Hadee – generally seen as the first step towards a prospective total merger between the two clubs.
2025 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 3G, RKVV Heeswijk qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out RKSVO in R1 (1-2), only to be eliminated in R2 by RKHSV (1-1 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out).