Netherlands, province: Utrecht
17 X 2026 / vv Schalkwijk - SV Houten 0-1 / District West I, Regional Cup - knock-out stage R1
Timeline
- 1921 / In Schalkwijk, a village in the countryside to the south of Utrecht, a first football club is founded by a group of Roman Catholic inhabitants, Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging (RKVV) Sport Staalt Spieren (SSS), i.e. Sport Builds Strength. It is unclear where the pitch of this club was situated.
- 1922 / One year after its foundation, RKVV SSS joins the so-called Roomsch-Katholieke Utrechtsche Voetbalbond (RKUVB), a sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Roman Catholic Football Federation (RKF).
- 1924 / After a membership of two years, RKVV SSS sees its membership of the RKUVB renounced due to payment arrears, leading to the demise of the club.
- 1926 / A new club sees the daylight in Schalkwijk, VVS, i.e. Voetbalvereeniging Schalkwijk. It is unclear where the pitch of this club was situated.
- 1927 / One year after its foundation, VVS joins the Utrechtsche Provinciale Voetbalbond (UPVB), the Utrecht sub-branch of the official Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, renamed KNVB in 1929).
- 1932 / Eight years after the end of RKVV SSS, a new Roman Catholic club is formed in Schalkwijk, RKVV NAS (possibly meaning ‘Na Arbeid Sport’, i.e. Sport After Work). Following in the footsteps of SSS, RKVV NAS joins the ranks of the RKUVB. It is unclear where the pitch of this club was situated.
- 1937 / After an existence of eleven years, in which the club never managed to climb out of the UPVB divisions into Sunday League 4, VVS folds, ceasing all activities.
- 1939 / As so many other clubs, RKVV NAS folds in the summer of 1939, when the Netherlands’ armed forces are mobilised in the face of the looming German attack on the country; with the club not being able to field a team, NAS folds, ceasing all activities.
- 1946 / In the wake of World War II and the liberation of the Netherlands from the German yoke, a new football club sees the daylight in Schalkwijk, RODA, an acronym meaning ‘Recht Op Doel Af’, i.e. Straight For Goal. Jan Vulto becomes the new club’s first chairman. With the club joining the Netherlands’ FA, a pitch is laid out at the back of the farmstead of the Dorrestein family in Brink, to the east of the village centre. RODA starts its existence as a competitive club in the Sunday divisions of KNVB sub-branch Afdeling Utrecht, as the UPVB has been officially renamed.
- 1947 / Probably at the request of the Netherlands’ FA, which wanted to avoid confusion between the names of its various member clubs, RODA from Schalkwijk has to change its name, becoming, rather straightforwardly, vv Schalkwijk. That same year, the club moved away from Terrein Dorrestein, settling on a newly laid-out pitch next to Café Bijlevelt, at the crossroads of Provinciale Weg and Schalkwijkseweg.
- 1953 / With the pitch at Café Bijlevelt being deemed unfit for use by KNVB officials, vv Schalkwijk moves to a newly laid-out temporary pitch, Terrein Neereind.
- ± 1954 / Moving away from their temporary pitch, Terrein Neereind, vv Schalkwijk settles on a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein De Heul, on a plot of land owned by a local smallholder, Mr Uiterwal.
- ± 1956 / Moving away from Terrein De Heul, vv Schalkwijk settles on a newly laid-out pitch on a plot of land owned by Mr De Groot at the back of Café Het Wapen van Schalkwijk – in fact the café owned previously by the Bijlevelt family at Provincialeweg.
- 1966 / Works get underway on an indoor sports hall in the heart of Schalkwijk, at the crossroads of Lagedijk and Kloostergaarde.
- 1969 / With the inauguration of the indoor sports hall in Schalkwijk, work gets underway on the plot of land at the back of the new facility to create a new park for vv Schalkwijk.
- 1971 / Moving away from Terrein De Groot, vv Schalkwijk moves into the newly laid-out Sportpark Blokhoven at Kloostergaarde, which is officially inaugurated on May 9th, 1971. The new park consists of a playing field, still the main pitch today, and a smaller pitch hemmed in between the main pitch and the indoor hall for youth matches. Later on, two more pitches are added to the set-up.
- 1975 / After one year of works, the new two-tiered clubhouse of vv Schalkwijk, built as an extension of the indoor hall, is inaugurated on December 27th, 1975.
- 1980 / Aged 20, former vv Schalkwijk youth player Ton Gruters makes his debut in the first team of FC Utrecht. In one of the three games in the 1979-80 season he plays a part in as a replacement striker, he scores the all-important 2-2 away at PEC Zwolle, which results in FC Utrecht qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Unable to become a regular at FC Utrecht, Ton Gruters moves to SC Amersfoort, wearing the colours of that club until its demise in January 1983.
- 1996 / Never having managed to climb above the level of Afdeling Utrecht Sunday Division 1, vv Schalkwijk is now placed in the Central District’s Sunday League 5, as all KNVB sub-branches are abolished.
- 1998 or 1999 / Coached by Wessel Meersman, vv Schalkwijk suffers relegation from Sunday League 5 to Sunday League 6, the bottom division of the non-league pyramid.
- 2000 / Champions in the Central District’s Sunday League 6B, 2 points ahead of closest rivals vv Utrechtse Boys, vv Schalkwijk manages a return to Sunday League 5. The decisive points are clinched in a 2-1 win over ZSC Patria. The successful coach is Wessel Meersman.
- 2002 / Finishing in fourth place in District West I’s Sunday League 5H, vv Schalkwijk goes on to win the promotion play-offs, thus acceding to Sunday League 4 for the first time in club history. The successful coach is René van de Wurf.
- 2004 / Finishing in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 4G, vv Schalkwijk drops back into Sunday League 5 after two years, alongside bottom club vv Stichtse Boys.
- 2006 / Finishing in third place in District West I’s Sunday League 5H, vv Schalkwijk goes on to win the promotion play-offs, defeating their ultimate derby rivals vv ‘t Goy in the final (0-1, goal by Danny Kolfschoten). As such, the club manages a return to Sunday League 4. The successful coach is Wessel Meersman.
- 2010 / Coached by Wessel Meersman, vv Schalkwijk finishes bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, thus descending into Sunday League 5, alongside the club in second-last place, SV Batavia ’90.
- 2011 / Runner-up in District West I’s Sunday League 5H, 2 points behind champions DWSV, vv Schalkwijk qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is drawn into a group with SVF and vv HDS. Managing an away win against the latter (1-3), vv Schalkwijk suffers a heavy home defeat at the hands of the latter (1-5). With the promotion ticket thus going to vv HDS, vv Schalkwijk is given a second chance in a lucky loser play-off against BVV ’31. Managing a 4-1 win against the club from Blaricum, vv Schalkwijk eventually manages a return to Sunday League 4 via the backdoor. This success is the swansong of coach Wessel Meersman, who had been at the helm of vv Schalkwijk for an impressive twelve seasons, subdivided in two different spells (1994-2000 & 2005-11).
- 2014 / Former FC Utrecht and SC Amersfoort professional league striker Ton Gruters becomes head coach at vv Schalkwijk, staying on in that capacity for two seasons.
- 2017 / Finishing in third place in District West I’s Sunday League 4G, vv Schalkwijk qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is drawn into a group with SV Ilpendam and vv ONA ’53, but is knocked out following two clear-cut defeats (0-3 against the former and 5-0 against the latter).
- 2018 / A covered stand built from a shipping container is installed alongside the main pitch at Sportpark Blokhoven. The new facility offers seats to 78 spectators.
- 2021 / Abandoning football in the Sunday pyramid after an uninterrupted tradition of 75 years, vv Schalkwijk chooses to continue its existence in the bottom division of the Saturday divisions in District West I, Saturday League 4.
- 2022 / Finishing in second-last place in District West I’s Saturday League 4I with coach Marco Tangelder, vv Schalkwijk descends into the newly created Saturday League 5, alongside SVF, vv Oranje Wit (Elst), and bottom club DVSA.
- 2025 / Champions in District West I’s Saturday League 5E, 7 points ahead of closest followers VVZ ’49, vv Schalkwijk wins promotion to Saturday League 4.
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