Voetbalvereniging Alverna, commonly known as VV Alverna, is a

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 based in the village of

Alverna La Verna () is a locality on Mount Penna (), an isolated mountain of situated in the centre of the Tuscan Apennines, rising above the valley of the Casentino, central Italy. The place is known especially for its association with Saint Francis o ...

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

, Netherlands, whose main team competes in the

Vierde Klasse The Vierde Klasse () is the ninth tier of football in the Netherlands and the seventh tier of Dutch amateur football. This is the lowest league in the South I region. The league is divided into 55 divisions, 29 played on Saturday and 26 on Sunday ...

, the ninth tier of the

Dutch football league system The Dutch football league system consists of two fully professional leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie) and eight levels of amateur football leagues. The three highest amateur leagues, the Tweede, Derde and Vierde Divisie play in nationwide ...

. Founded on 14 May 1950, the team plays its home matches at the Sportpark Bospad in nearby

Wijchen Wijchen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the province of Gelderland, in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Population centres Number of residents per population centre per 12 December 2009: Source: Statis ...

History

In 1936, the football club ''Alverna'' was founded by

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friars A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendic ...

from the Alverna

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, continuing a legacy of earlier clubs such as "AVE," "Helios," and "Alvernia." Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, organisational challenges led to a merger in 1945 with ''Eendracht'' from

, forming the Alverna Wijchen Combination (SV AWC). This partnership ended in 1948, with Eendracht continuing as AWC. In 1950, the current club was re-established as RKVV Alverna. The club's pinnacle achievement came in the 2012–13 season when it won the

Eerste Klasse The Eerste Klasse () started as the 1st tier of football in the Netherlands and is now the 6th tier. The league is divided into ten divisions. These divisions correspond to the six districts of the Royal Dutch Football Association: each district i ...

championship in the East district (1E). This victory marked Alverna as the first club from Wijchen to reach 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 ...

, then the second tier of amateur football. Alverna competed in Sunday Hoofdklasse C for one season ( 2013–14). The club returned for two additional seasons in the Hoofdklasse, during 2015–16 and 2016–17, which was then the third amateur tier. On 27 January 2017, RKVV Alverna transitioned into a multisport organisation, Sportclub Alverna. The club now includes VV Alverna (football), BC Alverna (billiards), and DC Alverna (darts). In March 2022, Alverna announced its withdrawal from Sunday football's Eerste Klasse, shifting its focus to the Saturday team competing in the ninth-tier

. According to chairman Dave Spithoven, the club planned to restart Sunday football in the lowest tier, the

Vijfde Klasse The Vijfde Klasse () is the tenth and lowest tier of football in the Netherlands and the eighth tier of Netherlands, Dutch Amateur sports, amateur football. The league is divided into 41 divisions, 19 played on Saturday and 22 on Sunday. Each divi ...

, emphasising local talent and community values over competitive goals.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alverna Football clubs in the Netherlands Association football clubs established in 1950 1950 establishments in the Netherlands Multi-sport clubs in the Netherlands Football clubs in Wijchen