Christelijke Voetbalvereniging Sparta Enschede, more commonly known as CVV Sparta Enschede, is an amateur football club, based in the north-eastern Dutch city of Enschede, that was formed on April 21st, 1921.
The club had been formed by young men of the Twekkelerveld district with religious beliefs who did not want to partake in the more popular Zondag, Sunday football, despite pressure from the local Twentsche Voetbalbond (TVB) to join their organisation.
This led to the formation of their own association for Zaterdag clubs before the TVB set up a league for clubs preferring to compete on a Saturday. In 1929, the Christelijke Nederlandsche Voetbal Bond, the Christian Dutch Football Association, was formed in Utrecht.
Sparta became members of the organisation while also playing in local competition, going on to become national CNVB champions, which would later be acknowledged as Dutch Saturday champions in 1934-35 after defeating De Gazelle 4-3 in Nijverdal
The success was a prelude for what was to come after the club moved into their own new grounds at Zweringweg. In 1936-37, the Delft club Vitesse was hammered 6-1 in the final. Olympia of Rotterdam were defeated the following season in the final held in Rheden.
Sparta made it a hat-trick of championships in 1938-39 when Amsterdam SOS were seen off in Apeldoorn. The outbreak of War and German occupation led to the CNVB and other independent associations becoming part of the KNVB.
The club won the Vierde Klasse title in 1946-47 and again the following season before progressing to Derde Klasse football, which was the highest amateur level at the time. Sparta were crowned as champions of the Oost, East region in 1950-51 and 1951-52.
This opened an opportunity to compete for the national Saturday title once more. They lost in the final to Huizen and then Spakenburg. Several Sparta players were awarded caps for the Dutch amateur Saturday side around this period.
The club was forced to use the facilities of SC Enschede’s Heekpark and Geel Zwart’s Erve Diekman ground owing to War damage and the general poor condition of the ground at Zweringweg.
In 1954, Sparta acquired part of the new Sportpark Schreurserve-Erve Kristen, where they converted the old farmhouse into club facilities, while a couple of runners-up places in Derde klasse ensued before the team was relegated in 1962-63.
Sparta recovered, building a new clubhouse in 1967 before the title-winning season of 1968-69. However, their spell in the Derde Klasse lasted just one season. The Vierde Klasse C championship was won in 1973-74, but again the third amateur level of the day proved too strong as the team returned two years later.
Runners-up slots came in 1978-79 and again in 1983-84 when the Christians won promotion through the play-offs. Improvement continued gradually, leading to the lifting of the Derde Klasse B title in 1987-88.
However, Sparta lasted just a couple of seasons at Tweede klasse level before being relegated in successive seasons to land themselves back at Vierde Klasse. Once again, the club recovered to take the 4D crown in 1992-93 after the new stand had been opened to add to several other improvements at Sportpark Schreurserve.
In 1995-96, the team went up through the play-offs to join Eerste Klasse after a reorganisation of the leagues and the introduction of Hoofdklasse football categorised it as the second amateur level.
Sparta dropped back down in 1997-98. The team reached the play-offs in 1999-00 and were in action on May 13th when the factory of S.E.Fireworks caught fire and caused an explosion and damage to the nearby Mekkelholt/Roombeek district, as it destroyed 400 homes, many businesses, and the loss of 22 lives.
The club buildings were used to shelter survivors while a hospital was set up on one of the pitches at Schreurserve as Sparta members offered their services. It transpired that player Nick Azink had died along with a youth team parent. A committee was set up to help the many who lost their homes and suffered.
Sparta recovered as a club and returned to Eerste klasse through another play-off campaign in 2000-01 under trainer Koos de Wals as AZSV were defeated 2-0 in the final. The standard proved too tough as the team suffered consecutive relegations in 2001-02 and 2002-03.
Not for the first time, the club showed great belief and rose again in 2003-04 with Peter Bokma as team trainer, as the Derde Klasse D title was won, while the club purchased their ground, which was used as a training base for several teams during the Under 20 World Cup in 2005.
Back in Tweede Klasse, Sparta ended as runners-up of 2H in 2008-09 and 2010-11 before being crowned as champions in 2011-12 under trainer Jan Willem van Holland to return to Eerste Klasse football. This level was retained until the completion of the 2015-16 campaign before Sparta returned to Tweede Klasse H.
The team finished as runners-up in 2018-19, before finishing fourth in 2021-22. Sparta won the Tweede Klasse J title the following season under the watchful eye of trainer Joost du Gardijn, before choosing Zandag, Sunday football for the 2023-24 campaign, being placed in the sixth-tier Eerste Klasse H.
A mid-table finish was achieved before the side was placed in the G section for the following season, with Tim Engbers as team trainer in 2025-26.
CVV Sparta Enschede will play in Zondag Eerste Klasse G in the 2025-26 season.
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