Achilles back heel: Vulnerability and the meaning of football at Achilles '29

Words: Han Balk

Images: Han Balk

The Dutch football pyramid is a rather peculiar construction. The Egyptians probably never intended it to be this way.

In contrast to neighbouring countries like England and Germany, the Dutch football system does not involve promotion / relegation between non-league and professional football.

After the bankruptcies of AGOVV (January 2013) and SC Veendam (April 2013), the Dutch Erste Divisie (second tier) was left with only 16 teams.

The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) sought to address this by relaxing the licensing requirements to entice two of the best non-league teams at the time (VV Katwijk and Achilles ‘29) to join the Eerste Divisie pro-level.

Ultimately, it was only Achilles ‘29 that became the first non-league club to be promoted to professional football, joining the second division as of the 2013-2014 season.

Under the leadership of the ambitious Derks family, Achilles took his first steps in professional football.

Achilles ‘29, full name Rooms-Katholieke Sport Vereniging Achilles ‘29 from Groesbeek, a village with 17,000 inhabitants, about 10km southeast of Nijmegen.

“De Heikanters” has been a top flight in non-league football for years, even surpassing their great rival, De Treffers. Among the six football clubs, the largest football club in Groesbeek.

To bring the Eerste Divisie back to 20 teams, the remaining spots were filled with reserve teams.

Achilles ‘29’s first season in professional football was not a success. The club finished 20th and last. The first financial problem had already presented itself as it was also reported that a subsidy meant for new changing rooms was used to pay player salaries.

A year later, Achilles ‘29 announced it wanted to remain in the Eerste Divisie. By doing this, the club officially became a professional football organization, requiring, among other things, the appointment of a board of commissioners.

The 2015-2016 season was the most successful in terms of sports performance; the club finished in 15th place, surpassing current Eredivisie clubs Fortuna Sittard and RKC Waalwijk.

However, In the 2016/17 season, Achilles ‘29 was relegated from the second division. A loan of €5 million arrived too late, resulting in the club’s inability to meet the tightened licensing requirements of the KNVB.

The club has since dropped to the 7th level.

Sportpark De Heikant still stands where Gerrit Derks once donated a field to the founders of Achilles ‘29 to play football.

Today’s opponent is not called De Graafschap or Cambuur Leeuwarden. Not even Ajax Reserves, but SV Parkhout from Nieuwegein (Utrecht), kicking off at 18:00 on a chilly Saturday.

Achilles ‘29 is currently in fourth place, and the freefall that began after relegation from professional football in 2017 seems to have come to an end at the seventh tier.

Although the call for promotion/relegation arises every year, Achilles currently holds the dubious honour to be the last club to have been promoted to the professional level and also the last one to have been relegated from it.

Opinions on Achilles ‘29’s entry into the Dutch Eerste Divisie remain divided to this day. Some call it courageous, while others call it reckless or even grandiosity. Many also feel that the KNVB portrayed it much too optimistically and that this pilot project was doomed to fail.

Especially when you take into account that no fewer than four professional football clubs (HFC Haarlem, RBC Roosendaal, AGOVV Apeldoorn and SC Veendam) went bankrupt and disappeared between 2010 and 2013.

But when talking about Achilles ‘29’s adventure in professional football, one also remembers the documentary: “Football is War”; An almost tragicomic account of a Greek hero’s epic.

You can find Han on X and Instagram: @hanbalk

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