SV Spakenburg

Sportvereniging Spakenburg is a football club based in Bunschoten-Spakenburg, Netherlands, that competes in the Tweede Divisie, the third tier of the Dutch football league system. The club was founded on 15 August 1931, and is regarded as one of the most successful amateur clubs in the Netherlands, having won three championships of the top tier in amateur football. In 2023 season, the club reached the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup by eliminating two Eredivisie clubs.

Spakenburg plays its home matches at Sportpark De Westmaat. Their colours are blue and white stripes. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Bunschoten-Spakenburg neighbours IJsselmeervogels.

Foundation and early years (1931–1947)
On Saturday, 15 August 1931, a group of enthusiasts founded the football club, initially named Stormvogels. At that time, several local football clubs were also established, such as Strandvogels, Noordster, and Spakenburgse Boys. However, there was no formal competition structure as we know it today, and the clubs mainly engaged in friendly matches and tournaments.

After a few years, the club changed its name to Windvogels. In 1935 the club participated in an organised league for the first time, joining the third division of the Utrecht Provincial Football Association (UPVB). Remarkably, in its inaugural year in the league, the team achieved the title of undefeated champions.

As the club continued to grow rapidly, reaching a membership of 200, it underwent another name change. In 1947, the club merged with local gymnastics team Lycurgus, leading to the renaming of the club to Sport Vereniging Spakenburg. This was also the year when SV Spakenburg achieved promotion to the highest possible amateur division for a Saturday club.

Located in the heart of the Dutch Bible Belt of Reformed Protestantism, playing football on Sundays was forbidden due to religious beliefs. As a result, both SV Spakenburg and their town rivals IJsselmeervogels explicitly stated in their statutes that they do not participate in Sunday football. Consequently, the clubs have historically played matches exclusively on Saturdays. To ensure the continuation of this tradition, SV Spakenburg signed a covenant with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and the Association for Saturday Football (BZV).

Eerste Klasse
Spakenburg joined the Eerste Klasse in the 1970–71 season under coach Joop van Basten, father of legendary Dutch striker Marco van Basten, and clinched their first league title in 1974. It became champions again in 1985, also winning the overall Dutch amateur league title, and in 1987, 2000 and 2008.

Topklasse (2010–2016)
It joined the Topklasse for its inaugural season in 2010. In the 2011–12 season and the 2013–14 season SV Spakenburg became champions of the Topklasse. In 2013/2014 Spakenburg also takes home the title of best amateur squad of the Netherlands after beating AFC Amsterdam in the championship for Algeheel Amateurkampioen.

Historic cup run and Tweede Divisie win (2022–present)
In the 2022–23 season, Spakenburg advanced significantly in the KNVB Cup competition. On 28 February 2023, Spakenburg defeated Eredivisie side Utrecht 4–1 away in the quarter-finals, becoming the third amateur team ever to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.

Earlier, on 12 January 2023, Spakenburg had defeated another Eredivisie club, Groningen, 3–2 away at the Euroborg.

In the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup, PSV visited De Westmaat and narrowly won 2–1. Dwayne Green scored for Spakenburg, becoming the first amateur player to score a goal in the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup.

Spakenburg enjoyed a remarkable 2023–24 season. Already by the winter break, it was clear that SV Spakenburg would be crowned champions. The team's coaching duo, Chris de Graaf and Jorg Hartog, who were both born and raised in Spakenburg and former players of the club, played a key role in their success. On 11 May 2024, SV Spakenburg won the championship with a 3–2 away victory over GVVV.

The team's season saw them accumulate 82 points, a record for the Tweede Divisie. This was achieved through a 19-match unbeaten streak (16 wins and 3 draws). Despite a challenge from De Treffers early on, SV Spakenburg ultimately emerged victorious. The team also set another new record on 6 April 2024 with an 8–0 win over Noordwijk, the biggest league victory in club history and Tweede Divisie history.

SV Spakenburg's Ahmed El Azzouti's became top goalscorer in the Tweede Divisie with 25 goals, while Chris de Graaf was named the best amateur coach of the year for the West 1 division.

Spakenburg and the KNVB Cup
The next table shows the results of SV Spakenburg against professional clubs.

Derby IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg
IJsselmeervogels and SV Spakenburg have been playing at the same level since they were founded. Over the years there an atmosphere had emerged around the derby matches which is unique in amateur football. The club of "the people and the fishermen" (IJsselmeervogels, also known as "The Reds") against the "farmers and clerks" (SV spakenburg, "the Blues"). Their rivalry reached boiling point in 1987, when during the second but last match a bomb made by a supporter of IJsselmeervogels exploded and a linesman was wounded. In the years that followed, until the mid-1990s, the clubs were separated. In 1999, however, the relationship between the two clubs cooled considerably when Spakenburg offered a much money to sign two star players from the "red championship team" (Gérard van der Nooij and Pascal de Bruijn) and have them play for "the Blues". The affair becomes so big that local government banned the derby for a few year. Since 2002 the peace has returned and IJsselmeervogels and Spakenburg are playing against each other again.

It is estimated that the edition of 16 April 2011 was visited by almost 9,000 people. In the stands there are many crowd chants and there is always a great atmosphere. The media spend much time on the derby, which is covered in sports magazines like Voetbal International and Dutch National broadcaster NOS.