RKSV UDI ‘19 (Holland)

RKSV UDI ’19, Uitspanning Door Inspanning 1919, to give them their full title is an amateur football club from the town of Uden in the east of The Netherlands between the city’s of Nijmegen and Eindhoven. The club was formed on May 11th 1919 at a meeting in the café-restaurant De Korenbeurs.

The club set up its first junior side in 1933 to supplement the seniors. In 1945 the club provided regular opposition to an English Army side, before going on to be crowned champions of the Maas district and winning promotion to the KNVB Vierde (fourth) Klasse competition in the east.

Two years later UDI won another title and climbed to Derde (third) Klasse. In 1954 the club began producing its own magazine; UDI Heraut as well as forming the UDI Eagles Baseball Team and in 1956 the club moved to the Parklaan ground.

1961 saw another championship arrive at the club with UDI ’19 joining Tweede (second) Klasse. However, after two relegations UDI spent their fiftieth anniversary in 1969 as a Vierde Klasse club. The following year a new clubhouse was opened at Parklaan, and in 1973 a women’s side was added to the clubs portfolio.

In 1976 UDI won promotion back to Derde Klasse before marking their sixtieth anniversary in 1979 with an extension to the clubhouse. The following year the Uden club won the league to reach the second tier, before making it back to back titles in 1981 as they reached Eerste (first) Klasse for the first time. After four seasons they side were demoted.

The 90’s saw plenty of excitement at Parklaan as UDI started the decade by winning promotion back to Eerste Klasse. Once more they won consecutive championships, this time reaching the highest level of amateur football, the Hoofdklasse. Unfortunately by 1992 and just one season UDI were relegated once more to Eerste Klasse. The club staged a home friendly against Ajax, with the Amsterdamers winning 2-1.

In 1996 UDI lost a play off game for promotion against EHC as the clubhouse received refurbishment. However they weren’t to be denied in 1997 as the club rejoined the Hoofdklasse, as the ground was renamed Parkzicht.

In 1998 UDI qualified for the KNVB Cup after winning Hoodklasse Zontag (Sunday) B and won through the group stages to be rewarded with an away tie against Ajax. One hundred and sixty eight buses transported fans from Uden to the Amsterdam ArenA, where their side were defeated 9-0. Following a sponsorship deal the club became known as UDI ‘19/Beter Bed.

In 2000 UDI won their second regional Hoofdklasse title, before collecting their third two years later. It proved to be a great year for the club as their second and third teams also won their championships. In 2004 with the club membership continuing to grow a new clubhouse is erected. To celebrate a pre season match with Galatasaray took place in 2005. A partnership was forged the following year with both NEC and PSV.

To celebrate UDI’s ninetieth anniversary in 2009, PSV sent a team to Parkzicht. The Russian State Circus also spent a week performing at the club, as all aspects of the club continued to prosper.

UDI ’19 will appear in Zondag (Sunday) Hoofdklasse B in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

Monday 20th January 2014

My long rides around The Netherlands over a tremendous long weekend were gradually coming to an end as I headed to Eindhoven, my final destination. There was just a couple of towns to call in at on route. The no.99 bus took me on the fourty minute ride from Nijmegen to Uden bus station.

It was a dull cold day and not ideal for photography, but I was still keen to see what UDI ’19 had to offer. I set off for the walk of around a kilometer down Kastanjeweg, Prior van Milstraat and Losplaats before passing Stadion De Kuip, which was the town’s athletics venue. Just a couple of hundred yards away I found the entrance open to Parkzicht beyond the car park and clubhouse, with a groundsman tendering a damp penalty area.

Although I’d done pretty well throughout my trip using the excellent 9292 Dutch travel app on my phone, I got lost and confused in trying to work out where my bus may pick me up on the route to Veghel. After much frustration I eventually walked a long way back to the bus station to jump on board the no.152 to my next venue.