 | ||
| Full name | Door Wilskracht Sterk | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 11 October 1907 (as Fortuna) | |
| Ground | Spieringhorn Amsterdam | |
| League | Tweede Klasse (Sunday) | |
| Website | Club website | |
Amsterdamsche Football Club Door Wilskracht Sterk (English: Amsterdam Football Club Strong Through Willpower), also referred to as AFC DWS, Door Wilskracht Sterk or simply DWS, is a Dutch football club from Amsterdam, currently competing in the Tweede Klasse (English: Second Class), the fifth tier of amateur football in the Netherlands. [1]
AFC DWS was founded on 11 October 1907, by the trio of Robert Beijerbacht, Theo Beijerbacht and Jan van Galen under the name of Fortuna which was soon changed to Hercules. [2] The team played in a blue and white striped shirt and white shorts. On 22 March 1909 the name was changed to DWS and the shirt colours became blue and black vertical stripes. [3]
In 1954 the club entered professional football, playing its home matches in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. It merged in 1958 with BVC Amsterdam into DWS/A. That name was dropped again in 1962 and turned back into DWS. DWS became champions of the Eredivisie in 1964, the same year they were promoted from the Eerste Divisie, which is a feat that has never been repeated. [4] [5] DWS then reached the quarter-finals of the 1964–65 European Cup, in the next season. Their 1964 triumph is the most recent occasion of a club without a predominantly red and white home strip (unlike recent contenders Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord, PSV and Twente) winning the Eredivisie title, a drought of 60 years.
In 1972 the club merged with Blauw-Wit Amsterdam and Volewijckers to form FC Amsterdam. DWS continued as an amateur club, which still exists. They celebrated their 100-year Jubilee in 2007. [6]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Score | UCP (1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964/65 | International Football Cup | Group stage |  Switzerland | FC La Chaux-de-Fonds | 1–2, 1–0 | 0.0 |
 Germany | Eintracht Braunschweig | 4–0, 0–2 | ||||
 Belgium | FC Beringen | 5–0, 3–2 | ||||
| First Round | never played (2) | |||||
| Quarterfinals | Belgium | RFC de Liège | never played (3) | |||
| 1964/65 | European Cup | Qualification |  Turkey | Fenerbahçe SK | 3–1, 1–0 | 10.0 |
| Round of 16 |  Norway | SFK Lyn Oslo | 5–0, 3–1 | |||
| Quarterfinals |  Hungary | Vasas ETO Győr | 1–1, 0–1 | |||
| 1966/67 | International Football Cup | Group stage |  Italy | Atalanta Bergamo | 1–0, 1–0 | 0.0 |
| Switzerland | FC Grenchen | 4–2, 5–3 | ||||
 France | RC Strasbourg | 4–1, 2–1 | ||||
| Quarterfinals |  Poland | Zagłębie Sosnowiec | 2–2, 0–3 | |||
| 1966/67 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | Second round |  England | Leeds United | 1–3, 1–5 | 0.0 |
| 1967/68 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | First round |  Scotland | Dundee | 2–1, 0–3 | 2.0 |
| 1968/69 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | First round | Belgium | Beerschot VAV | 1–1, 2–1 | 5.0 |
| Second round | England | Chelsea | 0–0, 0–0 (k) | |||
| Round of 16 | Scotland | Rangers | 0–2, 1–2 | |||
The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with AFC DWS:
Joop Burgers (1960–1969) Bertus Caldenhove (1931–1940) Guus Dräger (1937–1941) Frits Flinkevleugel (1958–1972) Frans Geurtsen (1963–1971) Dick Hollander (1959–1968) Rinus Israël (1962–1966) Jan Jongbloed (1959–1972) Rob Rensenbrink (1965–1969) Daan Schrijvers (1963–1965) Piet Spel (1946–1956) Bram Wiertz (1937–1957) Finn Seemann (1968–1971)The following is a list of AFC DWS players who have competed in international tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup. To this date no DWS players have participated in the UEFA European Championship, Africa Cup of Nations, Copa América, CONCACAF Gold Cup, AFC Asian Cup or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for AFC DWS.
| Cup | Players |
|---|---|
| 1938 FIFA World Cup | Bertus Caldenhove |
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax, also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax is the most successful club in the Netherlands, with 36 Eredivisie titles and 20 KNVB Cups. It has continuously played in the Eredivisie since the league's inception in 1956, and along with Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, it is one of the country's "big three" clubs that have dominated that competition.
Sparta Rotterdam is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands.
Alles Door Oefening Den Haag, commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag, is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2020–21 season. The club was for a time known as FC Den Haag, with ADO representing the amateur branch of the club. Despite being from one of the traditional three large Dutch cities, it has not been able to match Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV in terms of success in the Eredivisie or in European competition. There is nonetheless a big rivalry with Ajax and Feyenoord. The Dutch words "Alles Door Oefening" translate into Everything Through Practice.
NAC Breda, often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eredivisie, after winning play-offs for promotion in 2024. In their history, NAC won one national title in 1921 and won one Cup in 1973.
NEC Nijmegen, commonly known as NEC, is a professional Dutch association football club based in Nijmegen. The club currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion from the 2020–21 Eerste Divisie.
SBV Vitesse Arnhem, widely known as Vitesse or internationally known as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional football club located in the municipality of Arnhem. Established on 14 May 1892, they currently play in the Eerste Divisie following relegation from the 2023–24 Eredivisie. Since 1998, the club has played its home games at the GelreDome.
Willem II, also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a Dutch football club based in Tilburg, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion from the Eerste Divisie in the 2023–24 season. The club was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia. On 12 January 1898, the club was renamed Willem II after Dutch king William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), who, as Prince of Orange and commander of the Dutch army, had his military headquarters in Tilburg during the Belgian uprising of 1830, spent much time in the city after becoming king, and died there.
Football Club Dordrecht, or simply FC Dordrecht is a professional Dutch association football club based in Dordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system.
FC Blauw-Wit Amsterdam was a Dutch football club from Amsterdam. The name referred to the colours of their uniform, blue and white.
Jan Jongbloed was a Dutch professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for the Netherlands national team, having represented the country at the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, where the Oranje finished as runners-up in both cases.
Marinus "Rinus" David Israël is a Dutch former professional football player and manager who is currently a scout. Nicknamed "Iron Rinus", he formed a solid defence line at Feyenoord with Theo Laseroms.
FC Amsterdam was a Dutch football club which was founded on 20 June 1972, from the merger of the Amsterdam football clubs Blauw Wit and DWS. The club Volewijckers joined the side for the 1973–1974 season, in which season FC Amsterdam finished as 5th of the 18 clubs in the Dutch top-league. After a successful start, in which the club made it to the quarter-finals of the 1974–75 UEFA Cup defeating Italian giants Inter Milan in the process, the club was relegated from the Eredivisie to the Eerste Divisie in the 1977–1978 season. This resulted in a massive reduction in spectator numbers for FC Amsterdam, with the club moving out of the Olympic Stadium in 1980. The side disbanded in May 1982, after the 1981–1982 season.
Football is the most popular sport in the Netherlands. Football was introduced to the Netherlands by Pim Mulier in the 19th century when in 1879, at the age of 14, he founded Haarlemsche Football Club. Over the next 30 years, football gained popularity in the Netherlands and the late 1890s and early 1900s saw the foundation of many new clubs, notably Sparta Rotterdam in 1888, which is the oldest professional football club in the country, AFC Ajax in 1900, Feyenoord Rotterdam in 1908, and PSV Eindhoven in 1913.
Frans Geurtsen was a Dutch footballer, who played at both professional and international levels as a striker.
ASC De Volewijckers is a Dutch football club that plays in the Vierde Klasse. It is a continuation of ASV–DWV and AVV De Volewijckers.
In Dutch sports, The Big Three or The Three Top Clubs ) are the nicknames for the three most successful rivalling football clubs in the Netherlands: Ajax from Amsterdam, Feyenoord from Rotterdam and PSV from Eindhoven. Collectively they amounted to 77 of the 134 Dutch Football Championships ever played, and 62 of a possible 70 championships since the introduction of professional football in 1954. The three clubs generally end up sharing the top three positions and contending for the title. None of them has been relegated from the Eredivisie either, having been participants in all editions since Dutch football was merged into a single top-level competition in the 1956–57 season.
Amsterdamse Sportvereniging Blauw-Wit is an association football club from Amsterdam.
Amsterdam Derby (Stadsderby) refers to matches played between professional and amateur football clubs of Amsterdam. Such clubs include AFC, Ajax, Blauw-Wit, DWS, JOS Watergraafsmeer, Swift, De Volewijckers, VVA and Zeeburgia. An Amsterdam Derby can be an individual match or an ongoing rivalry between clubs, players and fans.
Niels Overweg is a Dutch former professional footballer, who played as a defender for DWS, Go Ahead Eagles, FC Twente and DS'79. He was capped four times for the Netherlands national team. After retiring from play, he was also active as manager.
Association football is the most popular sport, both in terms of participants and spectators, in Amsterdam.
