SV Orion (Holland)

  

SV Orion are an amateur football club from the city of Nijmegen in the east of The Netherlands, who were formed on September 19th 1938 by a group of boys of the Young Guard who wanted their own club, with Chaplain Tychon being one of their founders.

The club played at De Ark, but didn’t initially join any league as they struggled for players. By 1941 the players came of age and others joined up to enable entry into Nijmegen league football, playing home games at OBIOD on Kopse Hof. The following year the club moved to a ground on Groesbeekseweg.

Following World War Two, Orion moved to a new ground at Kwakkenberg in the south east of the city as Orion Boys. The club collected some championships and promotions in KNVB eastern competition. By 1960 Orion found themselves in Vierde (fourth) Klasse football, before reaching the Derde (third) Klasse in 1970-71, when the club’s name was changed to SV Orion.

Following World War Two, Orion moved to a new ground at Kwakkenberg in the south east of the city as Orion Boys. The club collected some championships and promotions in KNVB eastern competition. By 1960 Orion found themselves in Vierde (fourth) Klasse football, before reaching the Derde (third) Klasse in 1970-71, when the club’s name was changed to SV Orion.

By then a clubhouse had been built in 1968 at Dommer van Poldersveldtweg, but by the turn of the millennium the facilities at Kwakkenberg became too small because of the increase in membership, particularly at youth level. 

After three years away from football the team returned to action in 1996-97 in Vijfde klasse where the team as relegated to the sixth Zesde klasse where Orion were crowned as 6E Klasse H champions in 1998-99.

The team finished as runners-up in Vijfde klasse 5E Klasse E the following season to go up once again. Relegation followed in 2003-04 from 4E Klasse E at an important time in the clubs’ history.

Close neighbours vv Trekvogels were also growing and only had two pitches, so Orion moved to new premises on the corner of Nijmeegsebaan and d'Almarasweg with the agreement of the club’s General Assembly in 2003. Nijmegen City Council also gave the plans the go ahead the same year.

Orion won 5E Klasse E at the first attempt in 2004-05. A year later after many obstacles, Sportpark de Driehuizen was finally opened while the team ended as 3E Klasse D runners-up in 2005-06. The 2009-10 campaign saw the clinching of the league title.

At this point Orion had over one thousand members and around sixty youth sides. The club remained in Tweede klasse football before being relegated from 2E Klasse I in 2012-13. The team bounced back to win the 3E Klasse D title to win promotion twelve months later.

The momentum continued with Orion finishing third in 2E Klasse I in 2014-15. Eerste klasse football saw the team finish runners-up before being relegated in 2016-17. The 2E Klasse I title was won once again in 2018-19.

Orion were in second place in 1E Klasse E when the 2019-20 season was ended early owing to the outbreak of COVID-19

SV Orion will compete in Eerste Klasse E Zontag Oost in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Monday 20^th January 2014

Occasionally when I set out on a days groundhopping I come across somewhere totally unexpected. I was heading out to Groesbeek to visit three of the senior clubs in the football heavy town onboard the bus when I noticed a decent ground on the way out of Nijmegen,  noting where it was on the map app on my phone for later.

The no.5 bus dropped me at the Panovenlaan stop and crossed the road to investigate. I found the notice advising me that I was at Sportpark de Driehuizen and the home club was SV Orion. 

The gate was open in the corner of the ground, which had an artificial pitch and hard standing and high fencing hemming it in with adverts. The stand was a fine structure decked out in orange seats, to reflect the clubs colours. The site also had another couple of pitches and tennis courts.

I continued down d'Almarasweg as I saw further signs of other clubs across the railway level crossing, but they turned out to be the home of NMHC, Nijmegen Mixed Hockey Club and the Hortus Arcadië botanical garden.

Orion had been a bonus venue for me as I went to catch the no.5 back to Nijmegen station where I realised that I’d had a lucky escape. I thought that I’d secured my rucksack in a locker on the railway platform. The door pulled open, but all my belongings were still in tact. Thanking my lucky stars I went across to the buses to await the no.99 to Uden.