SV Orion (Netherlands)

SV Orion is 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 the 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 II, Orion moved to a new ground at Kwakkenberg in the southeast of the city as Orion Boys. The club collected some championships and promotions in the 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 the youth level. 

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

The team finished as runners-up in Vijfde Klasse E the following season to go up once again. Relegation followed in 2003-04 down to Vierde Klasse E at an important time in the club’s history. Close neighbours, VV Trekvogels, were also growing and only had two pitches.

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 Vijfde 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 Derde 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 in 2012-13. The team bounced back to win the Derde Klasse D title and promotion twelve months later. The momentum continued with Orion finishing third in Tweede Klasse I in 2014-15 to go up once more. 

Eerste Klasse football saw the team finish runners-up before being relegated in 2016-17. The Tweede Klasse I title was won once again in 2018-19 at a time when Jeroen van Haaren was the team trainer. In 2019-20, the team was promoted to the Sunday Hoofdklasse B, missing out on promotion via the playoffs two yeard later.

Dutch league football was reorganised, which saw Orion playing in the fifth-tier Vierde Divisie B, before the club switched to Zaterdag, Saturday football, remaining at the same level and being placed in the C section under trainer Ferdi Akankan. The side lost to XerxesDZB in the 2024-25 playoffs.

SV Orion will play in the Zaterdag Vierde Divisie C in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Monday 20th January 2014

Occasionally, when I set out on a day's 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 on board the bus when I noticed a decent ground on the way out of Nijmegen,  noting where it was on the map app on my iPhone for later.

The no.5 bus dropped me at the Panovenlaan stop on the return journey, and I 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 club's 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 intact. Thanking my lucky stars, I went across to the buses to await the no.99 to Uden.