Netherlands 1885/86

List of Clubs

Enschede (usually spelled Enschedé at the time)
E.F.C.                = Enschedesche Footballclub                                           [1]
Prinses Wilhelmina    = Enschedesche Voetbal Vereeniging "Prinses Wilhelmina"               [2]

[1] Founded on Jun 30, 1885.
[2] Founded on Aug 31, 1885.

EFCEFC At the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Enschedesche Football Club "Prinses Wilhelmina", formed (in 1888) by the merger of E.F.C. and Prinses Wilhelmina, both dating back to 1885, the Aug 31, 1895 issue of the "Nederlandsche Sport" published a translation (see jpg-file to the right) of an article which had appeared in the Sep 26, 1885 issue of the "Cricket & Football Field & Sports Telegram" (a weekly paper, often referred to as the "Field" or "Football Field", published in Bolton and sold for a penny; the Sep 5, 1895 issue of "De Athleet" printed the same translation), which reported on a match between two sides of the Enschedesche Footballclub, founded a few months before by (Jan) Bernard van Heek after returning from England, where he had played a match for the Burnley Manufacturers (as outside left).
This encounter in the "textile town" of Enschede appears to be the first football match in the Netherlands for which line-ups are available.

[Sep 6, 1885; nabĳ het buitengoed den Korte, Enschede]
E.F.C. I       4-0 E.F.C. II      
  [E.F.C. I: K. van Deinse; H. ter Kuile, B. Wennink; E. Elderink, J. Molster, W. Salm;
             F. Bresser, A. Blĳdenstein, B. van Heek (c), H. Blĳdenstein, J. Hoping;
   E.F.C. II: Van der Saag; H. ter Kuile, H. van Heek; E. Broens, N. ter Kuile,
              J. Blĳdenstein; J. Ameling, H. ter Kuile, L. ten Cate (c), W. ter Kuile,
              B. Romeny;
   spelling of names taken from article in "Nederlandsche Sport" (the English report
   had some mistakes due to handwritten notes, e.g. Knile instead of Kuile);
   E.F.C. I played in blue and white; the match started at 4 p.m. and reportedly was
   attended by 5,000 people, apparently because the game was staged as a side event
   of a kite festival for boys between 10 and 15 years of age; note that there were
   three Ter Kuile players with the same initial (H.) and that the families Ter Kuile,
   Blĳdenstein and Van Heek could almost have fielded a team together; a handful of
   players in this match were members of newly founded Prinses Wilhelmina]

That this match was reported upon in a Bolton-based sports weekly is due to remaining connections between Van Heek and his former mates in Lancashire (one of them attended the event), and that it was announced in the local papers "Tubantia" (see jpg-file at the left) and "Twentsche Courant" on Aug 26, 1885 is not surprising, but it is rather curious that the match, or rather public performance ("openbare uitvoering") was even advertised on page 2 of the Aug 29, 1885 issue of the "Nieuwsblad, gewĳd aan de belangen van Vlaardingen, Ĳselmonde, Kralingen & De Hoeksche Waard" (see jpg-file below right), published in Vlaardingen and Oud-Beierland, more than two hundred kilometres away from Enschede in the southwest of the country.

1886/87

list of champions.

list of first class champions.

About this document

Sources: "Nederlandsche Sport" (No. 674, Veertiende Jaargang, 31 Augustus 1895, page 11, "Uit de oude doos."), "De Athleet" (5 September 1895, page 4), as well as various contemporary newspapers, all available through Delpher; [Lui 17]; sportgeschiedenis.nl; Geschiedenis van Enschede; Enschedese Footballclub Prinses Wilhelmina 1885-1985

Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Author: Karel Stokkermans (karel.rsssf@gmail.com)
Last updated: 22 Sep 2023