100 years of football passion at Zwartemeer: From bog playing grounds to professional football now… (RENEWED)

From playing football on the boglands to professional football

Football has been practised in Southeast Drenthe for more than 100 years. Almost every village has its own football club. One that stands out is VV Zwartemeer. The club that was founded in 1921 has known many highs and lows. After the Second World War, the club managed to win several championship titles in the second division of amateur football. In the fifties they even managed to promote to the first division for one season.

The club was doing so well that when the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association) introduced professional football, VV Zwartemeer was interested in making the switch. In the season 1955 / 1956 they did so. Football club Zwartemeer started its professional football adventure in the Second Division. However, the move was difficult for the club. It was not until the 1960’s that VV Zwartemeer was able to turn the tide, as they were able to enforce promotion to the First Division in the 1965/ 1966 season.

Sportclub Drente and FC Emmen

After their promotion to the First Division, VV Zwartemeer underwent a name change to Sportclub Drente. Again, the transition proves to be difficult. After only one season, SC Drente is demoted to the Second Division again. As a result of the disappointing sporting results, the number of visitors drops. Therefore, the KNVB decides to withdraw the professional football licence of SC Drente in 1971.

Sportclub Drente ceased to exist a few years later. Football club Zwartemeer remained active in amateur football. After a merger in 2017, the club’s legacy lives on in FC Klazienaveen. In the higher regions of football, BVO Emmen takes over. They performed well in the 1990s in the First Division, but never achieved promotion. Only a few years after the club changed its name into FC Emmen, they manage to promote to the Eredivisie (Premier Division: the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands) in the 2017 / 2018 season.

About the exhibition

In short, Southeast Drenthe has a rich football history in which VV Zwartemeer played a decisive role for many years. Nowadays it is that other club, FC Emmen, which keeps up the football pride of the province of Drenthe. In the exhibition 100 Football passion at Zwartemeer: From bog playing grounds to professional football now… we take you with us into this history.