Utrechtse Sportvereniging Hercules (Utrecht Sports Association Hercules), also known as USV Hercules, Hercules Utrecht or simply Hercules, is an amateur

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, Netherlands. In 2014 it joined the

Derde Divisie The Derde Divisie (; ), formerly known as Topklasse (; ), is the fourth tier of football in the Netherlands, which had its inaugural season as a third tier in 2010–11 and as a fourth tier in 2016–17. The league is placed between the Tweede D ...

(then still known as Topklasse) after playing just one year in the

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...

History

In 2017, USV Hercules led 1–0 against

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

in the national

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

but went on to lose the game 2–1. In the 2021–22 season, USV Hercules qualified for the promotion playoffs, but lost 6–3 on aggregate to DVS '33 in the first round. Hercules qualified for the

promotion playoffs Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

again in the 2022–23 season. After defeating IJsselmeervogels 11–0 on aggregate in the first round, they lost 3–1 on aggregate to GVVV in the second round. In the

2023–24 KNVB Cup The 2023–24 KNVB Cup, for sponsoring reasons officially called the TOTO KNVB Beker, was the 106th edition of the Netherlands, Dutch national Association football, football annual knockout tournament for the KNVB Cup. 110 teams contested, begi ...

Round of 32, the club made history, winning 3–2 against Dutch giants

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

with a 93rd-minute winner. In the

2023–24 Derde Divisie The 2023–24 Derde Divisie season was the eighth edition of the Dutch fourth tier, formerly called Topklasse, since the restructuring of the league system in the summer of 2016. Derde Divisie A Teams Team changes Number of ...

, Hercules finished 4th and qualified for the

, but lost to

Tweede Divisie Tweede Divisie (; ) is the highest amateur (and historically the lowest professional) football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 1956, together with the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Between 1956 and 1960 and between 1962 and 19 ...

side Excelsior Maassluis 4–1 on aggregate.

Former players

National team players

''The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

during their tenure with USV Hercules: *;Curaçao **

Shanon Carmelia Shanon David Carmelia (born 20 March 1989) is a Curaçaoan footballer who plays as a right-back for USV Hercules. Career Born in Boca Samí, Curaçao, in the former Netherlands Antilles, he formerly played for Deportivo Barber, NEC, JVC Cuijk ...

(2022–present) *;Netherlands ** Wout Buitenweg (1924–1936) ** Philip van Dijk (1901–1914) ** Jan Gielens (1925–1926) * ''Players in bold actively play for Hercules and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with USV Hercules.''

References

External links

Official site
Multi-sport clubs in the Netherlands Football clubs in the Netherlands Football clubs in Utrecht (city) Sports clubs and teams in Utrecht (city) Association football clubs established in 1882 1882 establishments in the Netherlands {{Netherlands-footyclub-stub