SC Oranje Zwart Helmond (Netherlands)

SC Oranje Zwart Helmond, or Sportclub Oranje Zwart Helmond, was an amateur football club from the small city of Helmond in the southeast of the Netherlands. The club was formed on August 1st, 1970, joining regional Sunday football before closing down in October 2018.

The club initially played on one of the pitches at De Warande, a large park in the north west of the town, before securing their own Sportpark Dierdonk, before the land was later required for local development.

Relocated at Sportpark de Braak in 2010-11 the club found themselves playing in Zesde 6E klasse D in the West 2 region of Dutch football, finishing bottom of the table in 2011-12. The club would undergo a huge transformation, which would eventually cost them.

Transferred to klasse C, the team waltzed to the league title before finishing as runners-up in Vijfde 5E Klasse E in 2013-14 to win a successive promotion. The Vierde 4E Klasse F title was won at the first attempt in 2014-15

The momentum continued with Oranje Zwart finishing as runners-up of Derde Klasse C in 2015-16 to make it four promotions in four seasons. Their reward was promotion to the seventh-tier Tweede Klasse H, which ended in a lowly finish and relegation.

Debts had been accrued to the Dutch FA, KNVB, and local authorities as the side ended 2017-18 in eighth place in Derde Klasse C. Despite appeals and some repayments, the club folded in October 2018 owing to bankruptcy.

My visit

Tuesday 21st January 2014

My visit to see the stadium of Helmond Sport was paying dividends. I noted that the Stadion De Braak had other pitches around it from my research on Google Maps, but I presumed that they were just training pitches for the club. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that at least a couple were homes to other amateur outfits.

I’d already come across SC Helmondia and the main stadium and was heading back to the railway station when I found the final pitch at the Sportpark De Braak complex.

The grass pitch was railed and had hard standing down the side, where the changing rooms and clubhouse were also located. A sign on the outside of the building revealed it was the home of Oranje Zwart, which translates as orange and black to reveal the club's colours.

Most satisfied with my visit, I decided to try and take a shortcut and maybe see the city centre. Instead, I found lots of newish low-cost identical housing in what, to be honest, was a pretty uninspiring place.