Victoria Boys — Terrace Edition

Images: Han Balk.

The trains are so good in Holland you’d be forgiven for speeding on from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Ajax or via intercity to Go Ahead Eagles, Heracles Almelo or FC Twente Enschede.

Yet, there’s plenty of Dutch football to be found away from the Eredivisie with Apeldoorn, the sleepy Dutch city, boasting a varied football history.

This place of 165.000 inhabitants does’t have a professional team anymore. with AGOVV, currently playing at Saturday’s 7th level, and probably the best known.

AGOVV played pro-football between 1954 and 1971 and then from 2003 till they went bankrupt in 2013. Their grandstand, built in 1924, is one of note.

There are more great grounds and grandstands at lower levels in and around Apeldoorn.

One of those is Victoria Boys’ Victor Stadion.

Victoria Boys, founded just after WW2 on June 1, 1945, play on Sundays at 9th level in their white shirts with a classic orange ‘V’ on the chest and black shorts.

Their ground happens to be a hidden gem with a 1958 grandstand and a long terrace on the opposite side.

A small sign on the doors of the grandstand reads ‘Enter at your own risk’. Some would say it requires a little maintenance, but it breaths history.

In front of the grandstand there are two old school dugouts, where substitutes sit below the ground level.

Unless there happen to be a few inches of water at the bottom.

V doesn’t always bring victory for Victoria Boys but it’s a classic place to watch people knock a ball about.